OJ Mayo going pro

[Hammertime]

Oh damn. That sucks because players top developing at age 21.

He's a year older than Kevin Durant. Think about that for a moment. Plus, he's 21 with only a year of college experience, which puts him quite behind guys who are 21 and have 3 years of college experience. Or, I don't know, Brad Daugherty who was a 19-year old senior at NC.

The point is that it makes a difference. If he was 19 and had his current skill level, his stock would obviously be higher than it is right now.

Oh, and the reason he is so old is that his teenage mother thought it'd be a good idea if he repeated a grade for basketball purposes. The idea was for him to be older than the kids he was playing against in order to dominate them. I'm not even joking.

[Da KO King]

Right OJ Mayo's being older has nothing to do with switching high schools numerous times and everything to do with a shiesty mom who wants to hold her son back.


My view of OJ Mayo:
best case scenario - Brandon Roy
worst case scenario - Shannon Brown
most likely case - Jamal Crawford with improved defense

[FrenchDude]

Isn't Lil Romeo starting at his school in the fall on a hoops scholarship? I thought he'd at least stay and play with him for one season just for the publicity and stuff

This Demar DeRozan kid is going to play for USC too next year, right?

It could have been an interesting combo Mayo-DeRozan...

[Dasher]

oj is a good college player, a solid player even, but he is gonna get torn up in the pros. its not even a question, he just doesnt have the creativity to match up with quality defenders in the lane. Granted, he prolly will come out near the top when it comes to the learning curve, but he wont be an impact player for at least another 5 years. STAY IN SKOOL DUDE!

I think you haven't watched enough of him. He is very creative with the handle. His first step was overrated but his handle and his passing ability weren't. If Taj Gibson had a decent set of hands OJ would have averaged 5-6 assists per game. He may bounce around the L a bit but if he winds up in the right spot he can be as good as Chauncey Billups.

[DuMa]

not really in love with this kid's game but i know hes nba talent at least.

[statman32]

Right OJ Mayo's being older has nothing to do with switching high schools numerous times and everything to do with a shiesty mom who wants to hold her son back.


My view of OJ Mayo:
best case scenario - Brandon Roy
worst case scenario - Shannon Brown
most likely case - Jamal Crawford with improved defense

I'm confused. His best case scenario is Brandon Roy but his most likely scenario is Jamal with improved defense. That sounds better that his best case scenario.

[Da KO King]

I'm confused. His best case scenario is Brandon Roy but his most likely scenario is Jamal with improved defense. That sounds better that his best case scenario.

Brandon Roy is Jamal Crawford with improved defense AND improved decision making.

[ZOMG]

Oh damn. That sucks because players stop developing at age 21.

Hey, when you're 13 years old like 90% of ISH posters, 21 is ancient.

I predict that after about two years in the League, there will be someone here stating that OJ Mayo has "clearly" lost a step since his HS days and is, in fact, "breaking down" because "he hasn't dunked in like three weeks".

[statman32]

Brandon Roy is Jamal Crawford with improved defense AND improved decision making.

Alright.

[elz]

I think you haven't watched enough of him. He is very creative with the handle. His first step was overrated but his handle and his passing ability weren't. If Taj Gibson had a decent set of hands OJ would have averaged 5-6 assists per game. He may bounce around the L a bit but if he winds up in the right spot he can be as good as Chauncey Billups.

No he won't


Primarily for one good reason

Chauncey played 4yrs in college and Larry Brown helped him completely become a Pt Guard.

Mayo is leaving too early
Don't get me wrong, he's gifted and has a great NBA Body and can score.

But he's a tweaner. He's not a pure Pt Guard and he has no true position.
He's too small to play SG. But he physically Dwarf's the avg Pg. He doesn't have the decision making ability yet to hold down the position.


He needs to stay at least 2more yrs and thoroughly learn how to play Point. Right now he still has a shoot first mentality and he's been the teams best offensive weapon every place he's gone. He needs to breakout of that before he jumps or he's gonna be the next Marbury and Steve Francis.

Both jumped too early, both with great NBA Bodies and good offensive weapons. And their ability to score combined with being their teams best scoring options hendered their growth in the league. He's got this blueprint written all over him. He should stay.

Like right now Mike Conley is going to be a bust
PG is the one position where you need someone to micromanage your Basketball IQ before you jump pro. You can't just jump pro and learn as you go with the Point Guard Position.

[FireMcFailPlease]

This guys goin to make a great pro.

I hope the Wolves pick him up if we miss out on Rose or Beasley. No matter who picks 3rd, you dont draft for need that high.

[InspiredLebowski]

I don't get people saying he's too short, dude's a solid 6'5. The entire league's getting smaller, there aren't too many 6'7 2 guards any more. 5'10 guys like Augustin are being talked about in the lotto.

[Dasher]

No he won't


Primarily for one good reason

Chauncey played 4yrs in college and Larry Brown helped him completely become a Pt Guard.

Mayo is leaving too early
Don't get me wrong, he's gifted and has a great NBA Body and can score.

But he's a tweaner. He's not a pure Pt Guard and he has no true position.
He's too small to play SG. But he physically Dwarf's the avg Pg. He doesn't have the decision making ability yet to hold down the position.


He needs to stay at least 2more yrs and thoroughly learn how to play Point. Right now he still has a shoot first mentality and he's been the teams best offensive weapon every place he's gone. He needs to breakout of that before he jumps or he's gonna be the next Marbury and Steve Francis.

Both jumped too early, both with great NBA Bodies and good offensive weapons. And their ability to score combined with being their teams best scoring options hendered their growth in the league. He's got this blueprint written all over him. He should stay.

Like right now Mike Conley is going to be a bust
PG is the one position where you need someone to micromanage your Basketball IQ before you jump pro. You can't just jump pro and learn as you go with the Point Guard Position.

Billups is still a tweener. Pure points are rare. Larry Brown gets the credit for Chauncey's transformation, but it was Joe Dumars, a tweener point guard himself, who gave Chauncey the rock and trusted him. All it takes is a GM to decide that Mayo is his guy and mandate that he is allowed to get on the floor and take his lumps, something that all pgs need to be allowed to do.

[elz]

Billups is still a tweener. Pure points are rare. Larry Brown gets the credit for Chauncey's transformation, but it was Joe Dumars, a tweener point guard himself, who gave Chauncey the rock and trusted him. All it takes is a GM to decide that Mayo is his guy and mandate that he is allowed to get on the floor and take his lumps, something that all pgs need to be allowed to do.

1st Billups is not a tweener his primary position is Pg.
The only time he can move to SG is when the opposing team goes small. Billups doesn't need to score alot to win a game and can very easily dole out 10 asst, he adapts to his teams needs as the game goes along. He's a team first point guard who can drop in a heartbeat and very solid on defense. All things Mayo doesn't know how to do yet.
I'm not knocking Mayo but he needs another yr or 2 before he jumps.
Billups has a primary position Mayo doesn't. If he were taller and was a straight shooting guard, fine. Because he wouldn't have to be concerned with running the offense. But PG is a cerebal position and you can't just jump to the league and learn it on the fly. It doesn't work that way. Plus it still took Chauncey yrs to streamline his own learning curve. 2nd there's only one Joe dumars while there's plenty examples of pt guards who've jumped too early and clearly would have benefited from more experience.

Mayo is jumping now because of what happened with Joakim Noah.
Which is prolly what every agent is telling him and warning him about.

[elz]

I don't get people saying he's too short, dude's a solid 6'5. The entire league's getting smaller, there aren't too many 6'7 2 guards any more. 5'10 guys like Augustin are being talked about in the lotto.

He's not 6'5"

he's 6'3" maybe 6'4"