O. J. Mayo

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Ovinton J'Anthony "O.J." Mayo, (born November , 1987[1] in Huntington, West Virginia, United States) is a student at Huntington High School in Huntington, West Virginia. He is considered by several media outlets to be among the best high school basketball players in the United States.[2] He is scheduled to graduate in May 2007 and has signed a Letter of Intent to enroll at the University of Southern California. It is expected that he will will play for the Trojans one season before moving on to the professional ranks of the National Basketball Association.

Early years

O.J. Mayo was born to mother Alisha Mayo when she was 16 years old.[3] His father, Kenny Ziegler, played basketball for the Huntington High School as well, winning a state title.[3] Until he was age 10, Mayo enjoyed playing football and baseball as well; as a youngster he looked up to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

The first public mention of Mayo occurred in the Ashland (KY) Daily Independent in an article called 'Phenom' in the paper's January 21, 2001 edition, when Mayo was just a sixth grader. In that article he was listed as being a "6-foot-1½ point guard with size 14 shoe". The article also mentioned that he had repeated a grade and therefore was ineligible to play varsity high school basketball as of yet.

Mayo commuted from Huntington to Rose Hill Christian, a private school in Ashland, since student athletes can play high school varsity sports as seventh-graders in Kentucky.[3] In the seventh grade, his statistics often dwarfed the production of players five years his senior. In his first game for his varsity team he scored 27 points, had seven rebounds and made three steals. He was a seventh grader playing against juniors and seniors in high school. However, he was the same age (14) as most 9th graders.

During his seventh grade year in January of 2002, Mayo was mentioned in Sports Illustrated and on CBS Sportsline.com. There were also full articles in The Courier-Journal (Louisville), the Huntington, West Virginia Herald-Dispatch and USA Today.

After the completion of the basketball season during his eighth grade year, he moved to Cincinnati with Dwaine Barnes, a longtime family friend whom Mayo has often called his grandfather, in order to attend North College Hill High School near Cincinnati.[3]

High school

In 2006, the 6' 5" 210 lbs 18-year old junior point guard was selected as Mr. Basketball of Ohio for the second consecutive season, in addition to being named Associated Press Division III Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. He averaged nearly 38 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists per game. He also led his team to consecutive AP poll titles and garnered much attention from the media, appearing in the pages of Sports Illustrated among other publications. Much like another Ohio high school star, LeBron James, Mayo has drawn large enough crowds to force his team into seeking larger venues to support the growing crowds, and often attracts National Basketball Association stars such as James and Carmelo Anthony to watch his games playing for the D-1 Greyhounds.

In February, Mayo attracted the largest crowd to ever see a high school game in Cincinnati, more than 16,000, watched North College Hill fall to the nation's number one rated team, Oak Hill Academy. Mayo had been considered a lock to make the leap straight from high school to the NBA, but the recent Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NBA and its players has instituted a rule that a player must be at least a year out of high school before he can enter the NBA, effectively curtailing those plans. On July 5, 2006, it was reported by ESPN that he will attend USC.[4] On July 8, however, WSAZ-TV reported that USC was only one of three colleges that Mayo was considering: the other two being Kansas State University and the University of Florida.

On August 27 2006, WSAZ-TV reported that Mayo enrolled at Huntington High School in Huntington, West Virginia for the 2006-07 school year.[5] He formally committed to USC in November 2006. [1]

In January 2007, Mayo allegedly assaulted referee, Mike Lazo, after being ejected from a Huntington High game vs. Captial High School at the Charleston Civic Center.[6] According to West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission rules, Mayo was suspended for two games. However due to allegations supported by video evidence that Lazo had overreacted and faked the incident, a temporary restraining order was signed by Cabell County, West Virginia Circut Court Judge Dan O'Hanlan, temporarily lifting the suspensions on Mayo and five other players suspended due to incidents at that game.[7] However, shortly after, the restraining order was nullified and Mayo was suspended for 3 games, a punishment that Mayo described as "fair."[8]

On March 9th, 2007, Mayo and 3 other men were cited by the Cabell county Sheriff's Dept. for misdemeanor simple possession of marijuana. Officers found the cannabis in a car in which Mayo was a passenger and, since no one claimed possession, all occupants were ticketed.[9] Charges against Mayo were dropped on March 12, 2007 after one of the other passengers in the vehicle took responsibility for the marijuana. [10]

Mayo was selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association as the 2007 recipient of Bill Evans Award for the state's boys basketball player of the year. Mayo led the state in scoring this season at 28.4 points per game. Runner-up in the voting was teammate Patrick Patterson. [11]

On March 17th, 2007, Mayo led Huntington High School to its 3rd straight Class AAA basketball championship in the state of West Virginia with 103-61 rout of South Charleston. Mayo finished with a triple-double: 41 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. In his final moments with a minute left in the game, Mayo threw the ball off the backboard from the free-throw line, caught it in midair and dunked. He then threw the ball deep into the stands and held up three fingers. [12] and was promptly ejected.

References

  1. ^ http://www.cincinnati.com/preps/2003/04/27/mayo27.html
  2. ^ See Class of 2007 rankings by Scout.com and Rivals.com.
  3. ^ a b c d Diane Pucin, O.J. Mayo eager to join USC, Los Angeles Times, February 28, 2007.
  4. ^ Katz, Andy (2006): "Sources: O.J. Mayo told USC staff he was committing", ESPN.com.
  5. ^ Morehouse, Keith (2006): "O.J. to be a Highlander", WSAZ.com.
  6. ^ A Star Player, a Video and a Suspension
  7. ^ O.J. cleared to play
  8. ^ suspension:"Prep hoops star Mayo suspended three games", ESPN.com.
  9. ^ Hubbard, Travis (2007): "Mayo cited for marijuana possession", The Herald-Dispatch March 10, 2007
  10. ^ Johnson, Curtis: "Mayo drug charge dismissed", The Herald Dispatch March 12, 2007
  11. ^ Associated Press: "OJ Mayo Named Top Player in WV", WSAZ News March 12, 2007
  12. ^ Associated Press: "It's A 3-Peat For HHS", WSAZ News March 17, 2007

External links

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