Was Leaving Rose Hill Best For O.J.?

[TheKiller20]

Where Would O.J. Mayo Have Ended Up If He Would Have Stayed At Rose Hill?

[Juice]

i think it was the best for him

[Charlie]

Had he stayed at Rose Hill he probably would not have gotten the same amount of media and attention to say the least. Not that he wouldn't do great things at Rose Hill because he would and probably take them to the Sweet 16 year in and year out. And possibly win it once or twice. However, the notoriety wouldn't be the same considering he is in a big city and not to mention NCH competes nationally with the greatest high school athletes it has to offer. By competting on only the statewide level would only leave everyone skeptical and wonder if he could dominate teams such as Oak Hill just as he did his neighboring schools while he was in grade school...Here's another thing to consider how good would O.J. be if he didnt have his partner Bill Walker????

[Tomcat68]

Leaving was best for Mayo. Especially considering eligibility rules. OJ was intentionally held back one year and would NOT have been eligible for his senior season in Kentucky. That was part of his reason to transfer out of state.

Without Walker, which he also had a Rose Hill, Mayo would still be an unbelievable player. His numbers would probably be higher (points, rebounds) but his shooting percentage wouldn't be as high. Walker is a great player as well, but there's reasons why people are considering Mayo the #1 prospect in 2006 while you don't hear nearly the same talk about Walker.

[-STAT-]

I think it was best for him to leave....but I disagree with him going to NCH in Cincy since he is originally from Huntington WV, if it were me I would have went back home to WV....but hes only the best Junior in the nation...he can do w/e he wants!

[ACE]

It really wouldnt matter. If you're good, you're good.

[98]

I agree if you're good you're good, but there's no doubt he's gotten an amazing amount of exposure by living and playing in Cincinnati.

[orisonspi]

This season OJ Mayo is considered the 2nd best overall hgih school player in the nation, second only to Greg Oden. He is on a team ranked nationally in the top 10. He will be Mr. Basketball in Ohio. He also has two other juniors who are regarded as top 25 prospects in their class nationally. OJ Mayo has his choice of ANY college in America he could attend.

Had he stayed at Rose Hill the Royals would be a state title contender, RH would prolly be a top 30-50 team in the country, Mayo would be a top 10 player nationally but not on magazine covers. I think moving to Cincy was a better move for him publicity wise. He now has the Cincy Enquirer, a major newspaper, covering his every move. Had he stayed at RH he would be the cenetr of the Ashland Daily Independent and getting only secondary coverage for the Huntington paper which is nowhere near the calibur as the Enquirer.

[orisonspi]

Off the topic a bit....but..

Has anyone els noticed that when Mayo and Walker are listing their top college choices that they are listing Florida A&M? Does this not strike anyone else as unusual that two top 10 rated players intheir class are considering a second rate school fresh off of NCAA probation such as the Rattlers?

[Tomcat68]

I'm not sure on Walker, but Mayo won't go to college. He's been noted in magazines during interviews as just laughing at the interviewer when they ask what colleges he is thinkings about attending as well as saying he'd like to follow in the steps of LeBron

[Batpuff]

May be true but he will have to go some were for at least one year.

[Tomcat68]

May be true but he will have to go some were for at least one year.

Why is that?

[KY BOI]

The move from Rose Hill was probably best but in my personal opinion i think he would have done just as well at hunington...but they have to many players for him to stick out as much as he does at NCH

[JMac]

Rivals.com has the 2007 class with Mayo on top, Walker at number 2 and Keenan Ellis (6'11 and a buck o 5) at number 50. Maybe stretch on Ellis. Being in Cincy, you hear the talk that they are going to college together. The eligibilty rules in KY had to play a part in the transfer, but I don't think he is getting more exposure in Cincy. Any program with a top notch player or players will get invited to national tournaments and can play the best competition. When Paintsville had Pelphrey in the 80s and Vanhoose in the 90s, they played a national schedule and got both players exposure. Any team could do that if they wanted.

[daredevil4life]

He will have to go to college for one year because the NBA passed a law saying that they were not going to draft kids straight out of high school anymore.

Not exactly the way they put it, but that is the jist of it.

[JMac]

The actual rule is you must 19 years old and one year removed from your expected graduating class in high school. Kinda like the NFL rule that prohibited Maurice Clarrett from entering the NFL. In the NFL, they must be 3 years removed from their expected graduating high school class.

[m00se]

I think he made a mistake leaving.

[JMac]

I think he made a mistake leaving.

What makes you think it was a mistake?