Former USC Star, O.J. Mayo Praised by Iavaroni

The number three pick in this year’s NBA Draft, O. J. Mayo from USC, collected 15 points and five assists in his Summer League debut in Las Vegas last night. He also had the play of the night, with a spectacular dunk over Hilton Armstrong.

Mayo, who got off to a shaky start, committed eight turnovers but grew stronger as the game went on, and his Memphis Grizzlies defeated the New Orleans Hornets summer squad 88-75.

Memphis head coach, Marc Iavaroni praised Mayo, and Mayo praised teammate Mike Conley, who scored 14 points and had six assists. Darrell Arthur, another first round pick that the Grizzlies acquired on draft day, led all scorers with 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting.

"I was very impressed," Marc Iavaroni said of Mayo. "I'm very pleased with how he played defensively." Iavaroni said that he liked Mayo’s drive and desire to be a great player. "You can sense it."

Mayo claimed his eight turnovers were a case of early jitters. He said that he was surprised by the large crowd. "I didn't expect there to be so many people at a summer league game."

Mayo also said he was glad Mike Conley was there to help him out. The two started playing basketball together when they were ten years-old. Now, ironically, they have been rejoined after a bizarre trade on draft night.

The Grizzlies actually took UCLA’s Kevin Love with the fifth pick after Minnesota had taken Mayo with the third pick. Then, both teams completed a deal late that night, with Mayo, Antoine Walker, Marko Jaric, and Greg Buckner going to Memphis for Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins.

So once again, USC and UCLA are inextricably interlocked. For the rest of their careers, Mayo and Love will be compared, even though they play different positions and different styles. And pundits will forever argue over who is the better player.