OJ, Rodney, and Me
By Dan Barto, Director of Player Development at The IMG Basketball Academy and The PTC
Today's Outside the Lines special on ESPN outlined the crisscrossing story of an NBA runner, an up and coming NBA stud and the circus surrounding the recruitment of high level athletes. For those who did not see the story, it entailed an unemployed former reporter/convicted drug dealer saying that sports agency(BDA) outsourced the baby sitting duties to a person known to basketball circles(Rodney Guillory) to ensure that the player (OJ Mayo) had everything he needed. This everything meant clothes money and security (two different meanings). In turn for the security, OJ would then sign with the sports agency that supposedly orchestrated the whole deal when his career came to fruition.
Having been in the circles the Los Angeles pro and college basketball world, I had the chance to spend the day with OJ and Rodney on a hot Friday afternoon almost a year ago. Since I have been blessed to work with dozens of NBA players this was an intriguing day because I had heard so much about this kid and was ready to test him.
Up until that day I had know the legends of OJ from his days with the DI Greyhounds out of West Virginia as I was coaching in Pittsburgh at the time. OJ then moved along with Bill Walker to Cincinnati with the help of AAU coach Dwain Barnes who at the time was heavily involved with the Sonny Vaccaro backed Reebok movement. Rumors flew that it was a ploy to get the kids to commit to University of Cincinnati early and play for West Virginia bred Bob Huggins.
Under the tutelage of Jamie Mahaffey(Miami University of Ohio alum like me) OJ and Bill burst onto the national scene at North College Hill. For those next three years Mayo would dominate any competition or challenges that may have come his way. This was on the AAU circuit as well as the high school regular season. What I loved hearing was the stories of his domination of any players ranked anywhere near him as well as his huge performances in championship games.
By the time OJ and Rodney arrived at the gym, it was known fact that he was going to USC in the fall and he would most likely be a one and done situation. Though I do not remember whether it was his brother, cousin or just a friend, OJ brought a workout partner in theory.
The first thing that jumped out was OJ's lack of flexibility and single leg stability when going through the dynamic stretch. Having a powerful body and a man's build I expected the body control and range that matched a scorer of that type (most prolific scorer’s possess and master these exercises). His tight hips and the fact his face cringed so much during the glute activation had my mind racing on how much better this kid skills could get. He was nowhere near maxed out, a theory many haters proclaimed.
He was a pleasure to coach and I took the time to run him into the ground for about an hour and a half. His skill set has solid with the natural problem that young talented powerful players fight. Those problems were the ability to change speed, lowering the hips on moves, decelerating to finish, and core rotation coordination. With dead legs OJ continued to fire NBA threes with ease while he screamed at his partner for ending his efforts early.
Enter Rodney. Wait actually Rodney was there the whole time analyzing and pushing OJ to fight through and control his body language. Truly he was a mentor that day. He shared his story of how they met and reiterated the ESPN highlights of him just being straight forward with OJ about how life really is. At one point during our conversations he said, "The kid has a long way to go to meet the expectations that are out there."
In many ways Rodney was right, he was also right about the fact that USC was a great choice because Tim Floyd had experience in the NBA and the other options Calipari and Pitino did not necessarily produce the hardest working, go getting professionals that Rodney wanted to instill into OJ. He also noted that LA is not the worst place to be in the world when you have spent the last five years in West Virginia and Ohio.
Next OJ ventured into the weight room and learned that he had a long ways to go to get his body to the level of an NBA veteran. Struggling with balance and rotational power activities again, he enjoyed the challenges and asked numerous questions. As he finished his supplemental shake in the steam room he pointed out that most of his competition probably spent their Friday afternoon in a different manner.
As I dropped them off at the infamous Infiniti truck, I questioned the relationship and the intentions in my mind. I then though back to all of the things that I have heard rumored in the college ranks. Things such as players being deliver to agents for future recruits, families getting high paying jobs in the college town that there son chooses, the amazing real estate quick flips that inner circles where able to pull off right around the time a recruit committed and the incredible upgrade in car choices.
After reliving my experience with OJ and Rodney, I think there are a lot worse things that the kid could have been surrounded with for the last 5 years. According to ESPN's source Guillory may have spent used 250,000 over that time giving at least 30,000 to Mayo. That's a salary of 44,000 a year before expenses or money spent or hell even gas for the Infiniti. In Los Angeles that is border line poverty. What anyone really gets out of the deal we may never know, but considering all of the things that go on in the sports business this probably is not uncommon. When you look at the fall out rate for highly regarded 9th graders over the following 5 years of basketball it looks like all of this may have been worth the investment however it happened.
OJ Mayo’s career should fall somewhere between Kobe and Ray Allen. He is not afraid of work and loves a challenge. For those who question his college career remember that his worst game of the year was against Russell Westbrook who is also a lottery pick. Compared to Rose you have to take a long look at supporting casts an the answer lies within.
