The Real O.J. Mayo
O.J.No matter what Vinny Del Negro says about the Rookie of the Year race, O.J. Mayo’s candidacy is alive and well. At 19.1 points per game, O.J.’s undoubtedly lived up to the hype, and furthermore, he’s answered a lot of the questions about the viability of a 6-4 combo guard having a lasting impact on the League.
But things aren’t about to get any easier for the USC-product. He and Derrick Rose have both logged more than 1500 minutes already, close to 300 more than Eric Gordon or Russell Westbrook and about 600 more than Michael Beasley.
For rookies who are being watched closely by friends, family and the organization, that would normally mean that they’re spending virtually all of their time away from the court getting much-needed rest. O.J. won’t even have a true All-Star break, as he’s a shoe-in for the rookie-sophomore game. But that’s not stopping him from spending his time serving the community.
When the Grizzlies travel to New York to take on the Knicks this Friday, O.J.’s taking his Thursday night to host a charity event at the House of Hoops by Foot Locker in Harlem (125th btw Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. and Frederick Douglass Blvd.). He’ll be providing transportation for the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club to HOH, where he’s going to autograph jerseys for the kids. If you’re in New York from 6PM-8PM, check it out.
Long before O.J. proved that he’d be a reliable scorer in the League, there might have been questions as to what kind of person he’d grow up to be. We got to know him a little bit better around draft time, and saw a mature dude ready for the responsibility coming his way. Now he’s coming to the biggest city in the world for a short visit and he’s giving up his time to hang with kids from a Boys & Girls club instead of tearing up New York. That’s pretty cool.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Sho-Nuff says:
And they wanted to crucify him a few months ago for taking a 42″ plasma. That story died pretty quickly.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:55 pm
kevin k says:
True baller and a competitor. if people actually watch the games between Rose and Mayo instead of looking at highlights, ROY should be clearly Mayo’s.
Rose has more talent around him. That’s not even close. Rose dominates the ball a lot more than Mayo. Rose gets more hype and attention than Mayo. But stat wise Mayo is better. Mayo would be avg 2-3 more assists if guys like Darrel Auther, Warrick, and Millic can finish around the rim that is not a dunk… they miss so many 2-5 fters, it’s not even funny.
The main reason Mayo > Rose is defense. Rose’s D sucks. He has no D awareness, and depends solely on his freakish athleticism to cover for his defencies. Mayo in other hand doesn’t take any plays off in D. You see him guarding the league’s best 2s. He hustles, gets low in his stance, and doesn’t back off from any one.
Mayo should be the ROY, if not at least co ROY between rose and mayo
January 21st, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Dre says:
At this point OJ is the R.O.Y.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Ice Cold says:
I don’t think it’s even close. OJ should be the ROY. He’s playing better period, sans all the hype of Rose.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Coop says:
Trading Mayo in my fantasy league having drafted him on faith was a sad day (for me haha)
He’s going to have to develop his playmaking in time but he’s legit for sure.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:44 pm
dmitry of jersey says:
doesn’t “lasting impact” mean doing something for more than 3/4 of one season????
but youre right. OJ is good, would be my pick for roy
January 21st, 2009 at 7:59 pm
JCARR says:
OJ is ROY… good to see him be involved in charity events
January 21st, 2009 at 9:12 pm
james says:
Wow,How tall these guys are!If they want to date,maybe they only can find tall girls from some searching sites,as far as i know __TALLLOVING.c om__cute, hot , talented… whatever u can come up with…LOL
January 21st, 2009 at 9:55 pm
heartbreaker85 says:
“questions about the viability of a 6-4 combo guard having a lasting impact on the League.”
uhm, D-Wade is around the 6″4 area right? sucks for mayo that he went to a small market team.
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Soda says:
I hope OJ get ROY just so he can shake all the negative press that has followed him since his High School days.
He is doing all the right things in the L. Heck the Grizz may even be a decent team in the next few years. Good nucleous with Mayo, Gay, Conley Jr, and Gasol. Im a huge fan of Rose, but OJ can’t be slept on.
-s
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:14 pm
trex says:
oj mayo is clearly the number 1 rookie this season. He understands the game so well and can play either the 1 or 2. He is a player that only wants to get better and i truly believe we are looking at the next closes thing to a michael jordan or an kobe bryant. I’ve seen this kid in high school and he has DEMOLISHED the competition almost at ease. He was highly publisized as a 7th grader for a reason….because he is simply the best
March 4th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
hhh says:
OJ Mayo is the Next Kobe Bryant. He will win ROY. I can see why he was so hyped out of High School. He is really good, really damn good.