Mayo Ain’t Worth a Number Two
With the draft just a few hours a way, I am still wondering why Miami Heat President Pat Riley is even contemplating selecting USC guard O.J. Mayo over Kansas State sensation Michael Beasley, who was the consensus number one pick just months ago.
As a USC fan and resident of Southern California, I was able to follow O.J. Mayo’s freshman season on a daily basis this past season, and while he isn’t as arrogant as the media tends to make him out to be, he is no where near as good as Beasley is.
Miami is obviously looking to draft a great young talent who could play alongside All-Star guard Dwyane Wade, but Mayo really isn’t the type of player who will play second fiddle to anyone, even if he happens to be a former NBA Finals MVP.
Don’t get me wrong, Mayo, much like Beasley, is certainly a great talent, but his inability to defer to his teammates, especially in big games, tends to do more harm than good. Mayo’s selfish performance’s in big games, ultimately cost the Trojans several victories over the course of the season:
- December 4, 2007: Mayo goes 6 for 20 from the field in an overtime loss to second-ranked Memphis.
- January 5, 2008: Mayo goes 5 for 19 from the field in a 52-46 loss on the road against Stanford.
- February 17, 2008: After beating UCLA a month earlier, the Trojans are unable to complete the season sweep at home against the sixth-ranked Bruins in large part due to Mayo who scored only four points and committed ten turnovers.
- March 14, 2008: Facing a three-point deficit, Mayo runs the clock down from twenty-three seconds for a final shot. Despite solid UCLA defense, Mayo refuses to pass the ball and misses the last-second 3-pointer he believed only he could shoot. USC is knocked out of the Pac-10 Tournament.
- March 20, 2008: Beasley outplays Mayo as a lower seeded Kansas State team knocks the Trojans out of the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in a 13-point blowout.
All Riley and the Heat have to do is watch the film of that first round matchup between the Trojans and Wildcats, to determine that Beasley, not Mayo, is the best selection at number two.
In the months leading up to the draft, various experts, general managers, scouts, coaches, and fans, all were in agreement that Beasley is a better player than Mayo. Didn’t he prove it during the NCAA Tournament. Therefore, Miami would be making a huge mistake by selecting Mayo over Beasley, unless they decide to trade down.
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I was with the UCLA Alumni Band; I sat in the 4th row of the box seats, a few rows ...
Joey, your right, but what were you thinking was going to happen? whats your point here? you called every UCLA ...
I was at that game as well. Where'd you sit? 
Murshed Zaheed aka Nestor is a government employee and if you google his name you will find it is many ...
Comment by Jason on 27 June 2008:
I agree, Joey. Mayo was not even the best player on his team.
He was eventually drafted by Minnesota and traded to Memphis for, Kevin Love and Mike Miller. Man, whoever is running the Grizzlies is getting robbed. Mayo is not going to be a superstar in the league.