OJ Mayo scandal??

Wouldn't surprise me if there were dirty circumstances surrounding Mayo. The kid is the poster child for why the age-limit rule in the NBA is stupid. The only reason he went to USC was because he though LA would be a good hub for publicity and marketing. He was never a college basketball player wanting to make it to the NBA, he was an NBA player forced to play college basketball. The window for these guys to make money is so small, I say if they want to make the jump, let them do it. I don't understand why it's not like the NHL where players can be drafted and then be allowed to play college hockey as long as they don't sign a contract. The only way the rule is going to change is when a player that's rated as a top pick ends up blowing out a knee during the college basketball season and getting his entire life messed up. It's a sad truth. The age-limit makes for a whole new talent level in college basketball, but I don't think it's fair to the young men.
 
Reggie and Mayo, maybe if the scandals keep surfacing the NCAA will be forced to get off their collective duffs and check things out. Or maybe they will just go get their discount cars from Big Red
 
I watched it this morning. Oh, there's something to it. Either this happens at all big programs or USC is very, very dirty.
 
I recall Tim Floyd's recruitment story... a guy calls him (probably was this agent's runner who is the target, not exactly sure), tells him Mayo will call and commit. Mayo does.

Does Floyd have to know every piece of Mayo's business in order to clear him to sign? I don't think so.

You gotta remember that NCAA rules are not laws. They're artificial rules set up by the members to keep the playing field level between them.

The NCAA is largely impotent when it comes to this sort of thing unless (as in this case) a disgruntled member of the posse comes forward. Michigan got probation for the Fab Five not because of what the NCAA found, but because the Feds nabbed the money guy for tax evasion. Nobody involved who got the guy's money talked to the NCAA, and the Michigan coaches denied knowing the man's business, or that he was laundering money by paying the players on the side.

Between that, Reggie Bush, and this story, it shows that the NCAA cannot enforce its own rules without significant help -- a federal investigation, a wronged party willing to sue, or a whistle-blower.

The NCAA wants the players in college, but can't afford, or doesn't want to pay the market rate. So this is what you end up with.
 
what a shock.
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This is one of the downsides of the whole one-and-done syndrome. someone like OJ should have never gone to colllege. He was probably accepting money and gifts when he was 14.

I doubt that USC knew he was receiving this money. Could they investigate further? Sure, but how many programs would go further than the NCAA requires. Zero.
 
If the NBA could negotiate a rule like baseball has, even if it were two years instead of three, there would be peace on this front. Then the kid decides what he wants to do and the coaches know what they have to deal with.

It would be nice if there were a pre-signing day declaration deadline, and then you'd be done.
 
haha comparing USC now to SMU?

USC did not pay them, SMU's program/boosters did. There was a system in place, institutionalized by the program/boosters of the program to pay these players

No one who paid Reggie Bush or OJ Mayo was associated with USC in anyway.

I would love to see every big time football and basketball program's star players to see how they live and what they took and who they associate with.

USC gained no competitive advantage from either the Reggie Bush or the OJ Mayo situation.
 
that is totally crazy. maybe the NC2A will get around to this as soon as they get thru with the Reggie Bush case. Oh, it's the same school? Imagine that.

Hook'em!!!
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You know how the NCDoubleA will solve this?

Exactly, they wont. Nothing will be done. They are powerless..they're like the Queen of England only without a pack of corgis.
 
Bevo 5, I loved your comment about the corgis.

The NCA + another A just cant do anything about this. We need a bigtime witch hunt ala steroid investigation badly.

The sad thing is that this is what turns the casual college sports fan into a casual NASCAR fan. We cant have that.
 
like josey wales said, i'm not sure that the schools don't benefit due to the steering of certain players. everyone knows who the 'risky' kids are coming out of high school. they are kids that have an entourage, a 'tight' relationship with an aau coach or promoter, etc. the whispers are there, but the temptation to take the talent is strong. it is not 100% the fault of the schools, but the schools have the responsibility to do some due diligence. the fact that usc has seen its name mentioned a few times recently might mean nothing or it might mean that usc hated losing for so many years that there is a new 'attitude' about recruiting/winning. i guess only time will tell. but one thing is certain--the ncaa will do absolutely nothing.
 
Mayo was steered to USC by Rodney Guillory who had previously gotten USC Guard Jeff Trepagnier in trouble for accepting agent kickbacks. So what does USC do? Guillory was reportedly standing next to Tim Floyd in the coaches office when the commitment letter was fax came through.

If I hang out with a documented drug dealer can't one assume that I'm at best an unsavory character and at worst part of the drug operation? In this case USC endorses the agents/handlers to associate with kids then turns a blind eye and claim ignorance when transgressions become public. Don't ask don't tell seems to be the M.O. for the USC athletic department. Of course, then one also has to consider that only USC had the gall to schedule their "Jr. Day" for the football program on the same day/field that they were holding their "Pro Day" for the NFL scouts. Nothing like having 1,000 HS kids milling around with 1,500 NFL scouts and agents. At least the NCAA had the cojones to put a stop to that.

I think the fact that kids KNOW they get to associate with agents/handlers gives USC a competitive advantage on the recruiting trail. By all appearances it seems the agents/handlers know that USC won't try to fetter their access to the kids which gives them all the more reason to push the kids there.
 
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