Mayo pulls a shocker
It appears that O.J. Mayo does not have a stress fracture after all. The No. 1 prospect in the class of 2007 will be in action this weekend in Houston at the Kingwood Classic. The only catch is that he will not be playing with the Reebok sponsored D-One Greyhounds.
Instead, Mayo, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound point guard from Cincinnati, will play with the Nike sponsored Miami Tropics.
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"Yep, O.J. is going to play with us this weekend," Miami Tropics director Art Alvarez told Rivals.com. "And he might play with us for the whole thing. We are going to start with this weekend and then see how it goes.
"This all started last night at ten. It dragged on and then we worked it out today."
Mayo's high school and former AAU teammate Bill Walker is not joining Mayo and the Miami Tropics this weekend, but there has not been a falling out between the two and there is a possibility of Walker joining the Tropics in the future.
Adding to the intrigue of Mayo joining a Nike sponsored travel team is the fact that the Miami Tropic's will play against the Rising Stars and Jeffrey Jordan, Michael Jordan's son.
"O.J. is healthy and ready to go," said Alvarez. "We open up against Jordan's team, and Michael Jordan is expected to come and watch O.J. play against his son.
"We are really excited to have the best player in the country contact us and want to play for us. With him in the mix with our other very talented players, we have a chance to win this thing."
On a related note, sources have indicated to Rivals.com that Mayo is seriously considering transferring from North College Hill High School to basketbal power Oak Hill Academy, whose basketball program is sponsored by Nike.
Also of note is that Miami Tropics' 2006 five-star center Jason Bennett signed with Coach Bob Huggins and Kansas State this spring. Huggins ties to the Miami Tropics only strengthens the inroads he has already made in the recruitment of Mayo.