Why? Last year, in my 2007 NBA Draft Preview, I picked Kevin Durant first and explained:
I draft Durant here for one reason: desire. Durant is on a single-minded mission to be the best player in the game. There are few players like that in the game, and you see them every year in the play-offs and MVP voting. While LeBron James chases after his first billion and Dwyane Wade tries to create a complete brand, like Jordan, Durant just wants to ball.
As I read about Mayo, I see the same qualities. Greg Oden may turn into a beast and lead Portland to a championship. Derrick Rose may be the next Jason Kidd and Michael Beasley may be an all-star. But, the draft is an imperfect science. And, when comparing similar talents, I am betting my money, my draft pick and my guaranteed contract on the player notorious for his work ethic and passion for playing basketball, which is why I would pick O.J. first.
This is my full article on "Re-Thinking the NBA Draft" with my explanation for Mayo as #1 in 2008.
21 comments:
Not a chance. OJ Mayo is a head case. His attitude absolutely SUCKS! How do you think Vinny Del Negro is going to react to some 19 year old kid telling him "You don't need my cell phone number, I'll call you when I need to talk to you." Not to mention, OJ will be a certified bust. He is the next Dejaun Wagner. He's 6'2" tall, not a particularly good ball handler, can't consistently beat people off the dribble, does not have exceptional quickness, and not a great defender. That adds up to a recipe for disaster. He needs two more years of school and really needs to learn to play the point. He'll be out the league in 3 years if he tries to make a career at the 2G in the NBA. Come on, you want this guy guarding Lebron? Kobe? T-Mac? You gotta be joking here. He's gonna get eaten for breakfast by those guys who are 5" taller, a hell of a lot quicker, a hell of a lot stronger, and a hell of a lot more skilled. Beasley is the key. He's the most NBA ready player. He can come in and post, face up, shoot it from distance, beat PF's off the dribble, post small forwards into oblivion, and what I lvoe most, he'll do the dirty work! He'll get in on the inside and bang for that rebound, finishes everything in around the basket with a power dunk, and had freakish athleticism. He's an ablsolute stud. Mayo is a joke.
Anonymous must not have watched usc play this year... Mayo is atleast a decent defender (probably closer to above average), has the same passion that Kobe and Lebron have and can take over games in the blink of an eye. Any team who passes on him will be an immediate target for him when he plays them.
I really look at the skill set more than anything Jay. I saw him play in person, and looking at what he brings to the table, I was very unimpressed. People talk passion, Wojo from Duke had all the passion in the world. In the NBA, you need passion, incredible talend, AND freakish athleticism. At least to be a star in the league. You can get by in college on passion. Look at Hansbrough. I honestly see Dejaun Wagner with a better jump shot when I see Mayo. And look at all the off the court issues, I mean come on, this guy is a train wreck waiting to happen. Would you take Mayo over Rose or Beasley?
anonymous What oj u been watching the simpson, man oj is a very humble player he and mr anonymous you got oj height all wrong 6"5 200+ he is the total package he can break down defenses score, and get his teammates
involved while doing so. So before you criticize oj and he can beat people of the dribble this kid has strength and other things watch and mark my words oj is the next best thing
Oh great McCormick... already comparing O.J. Mayo to Michael Jordan eh? O.J. Mayo is no taller than 6 ft 3 1/2 and he has been compared to no better than Stephon Marbury. The Bulls have a chance to get a real leader, a lead-by-example guy with freakish athleticism that embarrasses O.J. Mayo. Not only that, Rose is a great team player whom will get his teammates involved. We have already seen what players like Chris Paul and Deron Williams can do, now imagine Rose, a bigger, stronger, and more athletic version of Chris Paul and you're going to take O.J. Mayo over him? Yeah, Chicago really needs another ballhogging undersized shooter that plays mediocre defense at best. Way to go McCormick, you're a genius. Perhaps you should start making comparisons of middle school prodigies with "desire" to Jordan as well.
OJ is 21, the most polite Kid you will ever meet, and shut down rose to 8 points and is the premier player in the draft. He played out of position at SC, he is a better player than rose, and Miami is taking Mayo at 2. Thanks Paxson
Oj and D Wade for the next 10 years
I can't beleive what I'm reading. OJ Mayo 6'5"? Breaks guys down off the dribble with easy? Are we talking about the same guy here? The one I saw in person at the roundball classic was 6'2 at best. I had front row seats, I'm 6'7 and he was NOWHERE close to my height. he couldn't beat anybody off the dribble in that game, and really struggled to run a High School team in a damn all star game. He's too short to play the 2g and can't play the 1. He's gonna be a horrible pick, that I promise.
So Anon... you didn't bother to read the official list of heights and weights at the draft camp then, eh? Being informed requires effort...
If I stood right next to the guy, why would I need to look at his listed height?
its ok people the original anonymous don't know shit about basketball or mayo, nothing to see here move along people
They have him listed at 6'3 on the draft camp web-site. That's a long long long way from 6'5 (Which even that is begining to seem small for a 2g these days). 6'3 shooting guard, no shot bruh. If he was smart, he would have planned on staying 3 years, and really learning how to play the point. He'd have great size for a PG at 6'3 and he can shoot so he'd make guys respect him on wing to supplement his lack of foot speed. I'm not one of these naive fools that think these kids are in school for an education, if I could make $15 million I would have dropped out too. But he's lunch meat in the league as a 6'3 shooting guard with "average" defensive skills, a spotty handle, and questionable quickness. If you're gonna be undersized at that positon, you better be LIGHTING QUICK to the point where you create a mismatch with the 6'7, 6'8 guys who now lurk on the wing. People always bring up Iverson, but who in the league has his first step? There is not a player who has ever played the game that can stay in front of Iverson in a 1 on 1 situation. You can't say that about Mayo.
Well I guess you have to resort to corny jokes because him being "the most polite kid you've ever seen" despite the fact that he wouldn't give his own coach his cell number and was taking money under the table, and "he has as much desire as Kobe" aren't carrying any weight. Desire got Wojo all the way to the... oh wait, he never played a single game. Good luck with that desire because he certainly doesn't have the talent.
Original Anon
Check out the two links below: He is listed at 6'3 and a quarter inch. He also had one of the highest vertical jumps in the draft, had better lane agility and was very close to Rose in the 3/4 court sprint. All along people were not questioning his ability to shoot or dribble the ball, the bigger questions were around his ability to play point (IE pass first/court vision) and Athletic ability. He tested out exceptionally athletically, and in today's NBA a number of teams are winning with combo guards. As for the off the court issues? He's never been called a head case by players or coaches, and sure he accepted money from a booster, but if we started complaining about every player that did that we wouldn't need a draft.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/insider/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=CombineResults-080603
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/insider/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Measurements-080603
Let's not turn the NBA draft into the NFL combine. We all see how poorly that process works out every year. All that really matters is how fast he is with the ball in his hand. I guarantee you guys like Kenyon Martin and Tyson Chandler would be pretty fast running the 3/4 court sprint, but put a ball in their hand and a defender in front of them and it would be a different story. Derrick Rose on the other hand is blindingly quick off the dribble. He has and incredible first step. I Mayo play just over a year ago in the Roundball Classic. I sat in the front row and really paid close attention to his game. Quite honestly, he was the only reason I went to the game. I wanted to see if he was worth all the hype. This guy is not a PG. Because I live in the midwest, I only got to see him on tv 5 or 6 times this year on television at the most, but he wasn't demonstratively different from what I saw in person. He can shoot the lights out, jump out the gym, but he struggles to beat defenders off the dribble and I thought he played pretty lazy defense in the games I watched. Just no effort. I don't think he's exceptionally quick, he really wasn't blowing by guys with ease. Really had to work to get by defenders. The first link you sent didn't metion his 3/4 court speed (I don't have a subscription to the insider, they cut the article off half way in) and it also said Patrick Ewing Jr had the highest verticlal jump. He's gonna be a guy who puts up 12 points per as a rookie, shoots 38% from the floor, 3 ast, maybe a steal, and is really inconsistent. He's not ready for the league. He'll be a backup 2g by his second season, out the league in 3-4 years. With Beasly who I have getting 20 and 9 as a rookie and shooting 48% from the floor, Rose who I have at 15 points, 6 ast, shooting in the mid 40's, I just cannot see how anybody would even consider Mayo with the top two picks. The other two guys are substantially better and more NBA ready.
Hey i actually played against Mayo and Bill Walker on the aau circuit, i have also had the chance to play against many of these other so called great players such as b griffin from ou and e gordon from indiana...mayo is the most pro ready player in the draft and he has the size, defense, and scoring ability to help any team right away in the league...there is a reason america has been talking about him since his 8th grade year
mayo's the next ben gordon.
Mayo is the next Dejaun Wagner, Eric Gordon is the next Ben Gordon. Plays just like him.
The next Gilbert Arenas? I don't know, but the kid is talented, but Dujuan wagner... please. This guy will score 18+ in this league.
http://www.collegefastbreak.com/
listen man ure all bitching about this player have u done wot hes done nooooo????well shut the fuck up no you havent ure just hating on him i hate that shit right ok hes not 6ft5 ive played him im 6ft5hes more 6ft3 nearly 4 but fuck it, heights not everything im a shooting gaurd and i kill bitches and thats the end of it weather 6ft7or8 mayo is a talented player no one can take that away from him yeah he bitches up but it happens to every player, i do admitt one thing all the hype over this kid wast needed hes going to be a good player in the league but not the next micheal jordan, kobe or lebron, they guys are in different levels they are amazing players oj will never match that kinda class and its nothing to be a shamed of cause very few can, anyway fuck im out
Nike Hoop Summit he measured in at 6'5 w/shoes and at the Pre-Draft Camp he measured 6'4.25 w/shoes last time i checked you play basketball shoes.. So his height is around 6'4 1/2 not a real big problem for a 2g in today's game theres not as many 6'7 or 6'8 2g's in the league for a fact kobe is really only around 6'5 most players exaggerate their heights only size pronlems I see is guys like T-Mac and Joe Johnson who is about 6'7 230 other thant that dominates 2g's are around 6'4-6'6 D-Wade 6'4 Ray Allen 6'5 Montae Ellis 6'3 Manu 6'6 he'll get a test at the scrimmages vs. The Usa men's team going up against bigger guys we'll see how he does
fuck this shite man ure all going on about height,yo height can help you but at the end of the day you can be a 6ft8 point gaurd or shooting gaurd but if ure wack ure wack,and you can be a 6ft2 or whatever 2 gaurd thats the bomb doest matter wot height you are, im no saying it doest help but really once your over the 6ft maker it shouldt make that much a diffence,im 6ft4 and ahalf 6ft5 on a good day and ive played big ass shooting gaurds which ive busted and small ass shooting gaurds that have busted me,it really all depends on ure skill level not ure height!!!!!
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