O.J. Mayo reportdley received $30k worth of gifts from associates while attending USC. EDIT:OTL Vid

[RyGuy45]

If you can go to war at 18 you should be able to make a living playing ball
People always like to use this statement concerning H.S. kids it seems like.

Face it, they arent the same.
The NBA does not have a dire need for 18 yr olds to lace em up and perform at the top level for the paying customer. They take most these kids as projects andgroom them. It is a business and they make a lot of the rules.

18 yr olds go to war because they are needed.

 

[allen3xis]

The "everyone is doing it" excuses I can't agree with..

There are varying degrees of what people are doing it and how they are doing it...and this seems fairly big

 

[rudolph1996]

Originally Posted by RyGuy45

If you can go to war at 18 you should be able to make a living playing ball

People always like to use this statement concerning H.S. kids it seems like.

Face it, they arent the same.
The NBA does not have a dire need for 18 yr olds to lace em up and perform at the top level for the paying customer. They take most these kids as projects and groom them. It is a business and they make a lot of the rules.

18 yr olds go to war because they are needed.
Any 21-35 year old can do the same so that statement has flaws in it

 

[wallyhopp]

Originally Posted by rolla808

This is why the NBA should just go back to letting HS kids go to the pros. It really screws the programs more than the players themselves b/c it's not as if this would affect any of these players draft status.

i agree. the problem is that GMs always look at this diamond in the rough potential factor and it has the hs kids wanting to earn the big bucks asap. ifthey werent DEMANDING the players, there would be no supply of them. simple economics here. if the nba guys didnt draft all of them or tell them they aretalented, they would go into college and get better.

i guess its really at a point where nba GMs are 100% about projects and building something. thats why imo the nba tends to suck. it lacks the veterans and olddudes who know how to play. instead we spend good money to watch projects

 

[chikickz]

At 18 you are eligible to go to war because about $250,000 in tax money over your life has been spent on a system of education to prepare you to be aproductive member of society.

 

[shannonscrooks]

An ex-cocaine dealer, an unsavory promoter/"runner" and a future lottery pick. Sounds like a recipe for success.

 

[chikickz]

i guess its really at a point where nba GMs are 100% about projects and building something. thats why imo the nba tends to suck. it lacks the veterans and old dudes who know how to play. instead we spend good money to watch projects

There is a lot of truth to this. Since the '98 lockout when the owners and the NBPA came together to create the present structure of guaranteed contracts,the development system of the game of basketball(YMCA leagues/Community leagues for youth, AAU, and High School) was altered to create a market that nowallowed for a higher level of development at an earlier age so that by 18 the best talent would be ready to go pro, get on the rookie level contract scale,spend a few years developing their pro game, and by the time they are 23-25 years old they can be inked to max dollars at 5 or 6 seasons.

Know this, the agencies(BDA, Wasserman Media Group, SFX, et al) are very aware of how high level talent is developed for basketball in the United States andaround the world. They will lie, cheat, and steal to get as close to the prospects as possible at the earliest age possible. They want the NEXT best talent tobe on their roster. They want to make money for the OJ Mayos or the Carmelo Anthonys, they just want to make money together with the actual baller as the faceof the hedge fund.

 

[N41D]

Any 21-35 year old can do the same so that statement has flaws in it
The whole "to go war" thing is beyond crap... Just because you're eligible doesn't mean you have to go... This day and age, 18year olds don't go to war if they don't choose to enlist themselves. Kids enroll because they choose to. Nobody makes them.

 

[dyyhard]

Mayo, who talked to ESPN.com using the same cell-phone number that Guillory had provided for him (according to T-Mobile phone records and independent verification by "Outside The Lines"
OTL/ESPN adding more fuel to the fire...

so someone provides you with cell-phone access(which you couldn't set-up yourself?)? bring this man down.

 

[chikickz]

Originally Posted by dyyhard

Mayo, who talked to ESPN.com using the same cell-phone number that Guillory had provided for him (according to T-Mobile phone records and independent verification by "Outside The Lines"

OTL/ESPN adding more fuel to the fire...

so someone provides you with cell-phone access(which you couldn't set-up yourself?)? bring this man down.

It's investigative journalism. OJ Mayo isn't even trying to conceal what's been provided to him. If you're going to cheat you might aswell hire a PR person that gets paid to change the public's perception of you.

 

[swyftdahoe]

I'm CERTAIN OJ Mayo took the money and has been PAID for many years now..

BUT, I hate the college system and its hypocrisy.. College athletics are big businesses and they make tons of money off these athletes and it's time thatthese student-athletes get some sorta stipend.. Don't tell me it's about higher education 'cuz that's hogwash..

 

[dyyhard]

^^ I'm aware that they are looking into every corner of this scandal, tieing loose ends together and drawing connections to help form their piece -that's what OTL does. And I know that OJ has had alot of assistance from others to make sure he has the things he needs, ultimately to ensure he gets tothe NBA through this "process". But this scandal through it's reporting in the media, just highlights and details some of the possible violationsand how difficult it can be to make a multi-millionaire in waiting conform to NCAA rules for what a period of less than 6 months?

 

[aschwartz44]

 

[chikickz]

Originally Posted by dyyhard

^^ I'm aware that they are looking into every corner of this scandal, tieing loose ends together and drawing connections to help form their piece - that's what OTL does. [color= rgb(255, 0, 0)]And I know that OJ has had alot of assistance from others to make sure he has the things he needs, ultimately to ensure he gets to the NBA through this "process".[/color] But this scandal through it's reporting in the media, just highlights and details some of the possible violations and how difficult it can be to make a multi-millionaire in waiting conform to NCAA rules for what a period of less than 6 months?

If you watch the OTL video then you will see the evidence that ESPN has been collecting on this story for a while now. They have papparazzi like video fromMarch of Mayo, Guillory, and Johnson. Someone was following Mayo's associates around and it was probably either ESPN or someone ESPN hired.

As soon as Mayo announced he was going to USC all the alarm bells went off from people that follow the recruiting game. ESPN isn't going to revealtheir sources, but it's a give in that people were sending ESPN stuff about the recruitment of Mayo.

The portion I highlight is most troubling. How do you define what Mayo "needs" at USC? People are trying to bend the rules as if giving gifts toMayo is what keeps him at USC. It doesn't Once he commits to USC and starts playing, he's in. He only has to avoid the public perception ofimpropriety which is why he got busted for the courtside seats from Carmelo. Carmelo was RECRUITING Mayo to Bill Duffy and Associates. Melo's agent isCalvin Andrews. Mayo just announced he signed with BDA and will be represented by Calvin Andrews. Is anyone paying attention to this agency game?
USC isstuck between a rock(agency game) and a hard place(NCAA rules). It is very possible they had no idea what was going on with Mayo. Why should Mayo care aboutUSC? He's already out of there. Reggie Bush? He gone. They're not worried about long term fallout for USC from the illegal benefits they received. USC needs to care because they might get the book thrown at them if they don't start pretending they do care. It gets worse next year when DeRozen showsup with the worst basketball D1 scholarship recruit in NCAA history, Lil Romeo.

Is Percy Miller still in the sports agency business? Master P is hustler from the streets. He's a smart dude. It wouldn't shock me if his formerventure in the sports agency business was just a way be a thorn in the existing businesses habitat until one of the big players came along to buy him out.

 

[outacontrol music]

Carmelo was RECRUITING Mayo to Bill Duffy and Associates. Melo's agent is Calvin Andrews. Mayo just announced he signed with BDA and will be represented by Calvin Andrews. Is anyone paying attention to this agency ga

Didnt know this

Going to a Laker game with Carmelo...just trying to get caught. The puzzle is coming together..

They were on ESPN radio talking about who should be to blame

Coach?
Program?
Mayo?
Agency?
Mother?



I say Mayo. The team MAY have known, but its not like they were the ones funneling money to him nor could they really do anything.

Unfortunately, this is gonna come down on Floyd and USC with Mayo getting off scot free.


This is why one and done is ridiculous. Its putting the schools in a hole, where the standards are win or get fired.

I'd rather allow them dudes to go to the league and have less schools being punished for BS. Shoot, make em go to the D League for a year.

 

[moneylicious]

@ Curtis

His excuse to snitch makes absolutely no sense. How will making it public force Mayo to change his ways?

- He was probably salty about his situation with Guillory
- Wanted money to stay silent
- Didnt get that money, so he went to OTL

 

[10508 cardo jr ln]

Is it me, or everytime they show this OTL piece, there's new footage added?

 

[vagixxer]

I know a guy who works at a big time agency out of florida. They have a lot of big name guys as clients. The guy I know gets paid A LOT of money to do thisexact same things in the Virginia area. He knows all the players at Tech UVA ETC. The agency pays him to get to these guys as early as middle school and "lookout and take care" of them until they see if they can go pro and then pitches them the agency.

 

[wildkycat]

Originally Posted by outacontrol music

They were on ESPN radio talking about who should be to blame

Coach?
Program?
Mayo?
Agency?
Mother?



I say Mayo. The team MAY have known, but its not like they were the ones funneling money to him nor could they really do anything.

Unfortunately, this is gonna come down on Floyd and USC with Mayo getting off scot free.


This is why one and done is ridiculous. Its putting the schools in a hole, where the standards are win or get fired.

I'd rather allow them dudes to go to the league and have less schools being punished for BS. Shoot, make em go to the D League for a year.

you can't blame Floyd, he didn't recruit him.

you can't blame a kid breaking the rules on the whole "one and done" rule.

and don't give me that "he's just a poor kid" crap. this dude getting a plasma, clothes, hotels, cell phones. not groceries.

this whole thing stinks.

 

[gunner thirtytwo]

Maybe I'm off-base here... but the opinion on OJ being a dirtbag or saint is beside the point. I really can't blame dude for taking money, clothes,whatever. Dude didn't have that much of a risk from taking those things. If he doesn't get caught, he plays in college, gets drafted, makes $$$ -mission accomplished. If he gets caught, he misses games in college, gets USC in trouble with some minimal punishment, STILL gets drafted, makes $$$ - missionaccomplished... for him. Can you really blame him? I sure can't.

From the limited things that I heard in the news thus far, the issue is really with USC, Floyd, and Mike Garrett. For them to "miss" something likethis on their watch right after all the Reggie Bush nonsense is really beyond me. Maybe they just know that they'll get a slap on the wrist, if that... Itstill remains to be seen. Sure, every program does this kinda stuff, but to take someone out of high school with that kind of rep already attached to him andknowing that the NCAA has you on their radar screen more than ever just seems like they really don't care. And if they still don't get some kind ofsignificant punishment, why would they?

The NCAA isn't some kind of holy institution. They're willing to live with imperfections, if at the end the day they increase their bottom line.

Or maybe I missed something completely...

 

[wraith aka invincible]

Originally Posted by MoNeyLiCiouS



His excuse to snitch makes absolutely no sense. How will making it public force Mayo to change his ways?

- He was probably salty about his situation with Guillory
- Wanted money to stay silent
- Didnt get that money, so he went to OTL

sounds right. man Guillroy lookin troubled in that vid.

 

[ricardo malta]

Here's what I don't get....

If the NCAA's, PAC-10, and USC all investigated him before and during the season and didn't catch this then....


THEN WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY INVESTIGATING IN THE FIRST PLACE?!

 

[henz0]

my dude OJ

 

[hybridsoldier23]

Originally Posted by OGJumpman

Sorry to break it to you guys but O.J did it. I know many people that go to USC and a couple of people that have talked to O.J in person
and they say he got a new flat screen T.V in his dorm room and is also pushing a fresh new car. So yea im pretty sure this is all true.

First off I don't think anyone is denying the fact he did this. Second, fresh new car and flat screen TV in his dorm? Come on homie? Have you been tothe SC dorms? A lot of people have flat screens in their dorm rooms. Mayo is pushing an Impala and 1/3 of the USC campus is driving around in >$40,000vehicles. So this doesn't raise up the red flag real bright and have the lights start going off. I'm a SC student and my girl is an SC athlete and weboth know our ball program is in shambles. It echos from Galen to Heritage to all across campus. She was at the athlete awards a few weeks ago and only twoplayers on the b-ball team could muster a 3.0 GPA

... come on 6 units ofbasket weaving and you can't score a couple of B's? I've sure most of you have read the story about the team eating it for not having their playersup to academic compliance. The whole basketball team situation is in turmoil and the reggie situation ain't helping either. My girl is heated about itbecause it makes her as a representative of the school look bad, and as a student it makes the whole school look bad when these players don't care aboutwhat school, what coach, or anyone else they throw under the bus on their way to the pros.

 

[you big dummy]

anyone else see this guy sitting courtside at the Cavs-Celtics game 4?