Rose vs. Mayo will have to wait
Teaneck, N.J. -- The marquee matchup that was
supposed to happen -- O.J. Mayo vs.
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Derrick Rose -- never materialized Friday
night at Reebok ABCD Camp.
Instead, Rose sat on the sidelines in a gray Reebok
t-shirt and his injured ankle taped. About 1:20 before
tip-off, the announcement came that Rose would not be
particpating in the evening session. He injured his
ankle in morning drills and did not participate all
day.
Will Rose, the No. 2 point guard in the 2007 class
according to Rivals.com, have his shot against the
top-ranked Mayo? If it happens, it will have to wait
until Sunday afternoon in the All-Star Game. That's if
Rose's ankle heals in time.
"Playing against O.J. was one of the reasons I came to
ABCD," Rose said. "Now I feel like I'l have to wait
forever to play against him. I'm just trying to
compete. I don't really care where I'm ranked, I just
want to compete against the best."
Mayo is the best in his class and he continued to be
one of the top players in camp with a solid showing in
the evening session. Bill Walker scored a
game-high 19 points and added four assists and Mayo
finished with 18 points, three rebounds and two steals
in the 89-77 win to improve to 4-0.
Alex Legion led the losing team with 17
points and Taylor King had a strong second
day after a disappointing start to camp. King finished
with 12 points and nine boards in the second session.
In the afternoon, he had nine points and 11 rebounds
(six on the offensive end). Teammate DeAndre
Jordan continues to be productive at camp as he
had 25 points and 16 rebounds in two games.
"Derrick and I are on the same page, just trying to be
the best players we can be," Mayo said. "I wish
nothing but the best for him."
Love continues dominance
Is it possible to lead the camp in scoring and
rebounding for the second-straight day and still not
leave the Rothman Center Friday night with a smile on
your face? It is if you are Kevin Love, who
cares about winning these games more than putting up
big statistics.
Love is averaging 18.8 points per game (3.8 points
more than Walker, who is in second place) and 8.5
rebounds, but his team has fallen to 1-3 after day
two. The Lake Oswego (Ore.) prospect opened camp with
a 29-point performance and he has not slowed down.
Love is getting help from 2008 point guard Brandon Jennings, who finished with seven points and six
assists in the evening game and 11 points and four
assists earlier in the day against Mayo's team. At any
time, Jennings can make magic happen with the
basketball.
Drew Gordon, who had 15 points and nine
boards in the evening session, continues to play well,
but the wins just are not piling up for Love's team.
"I'm not used to losing," Love said. "I'm a winner.
I'm a competitive guy. I just like winning every
single game. I'm fine with the way I'm playing. I
could be doing some things better but I'm happy. We
just need to win."
A look at the top performers
Love and Walker are one and two in scoring and Durham
(N.C.) Mount Zion forward Tracy Smith is
holding firm in the third spot with an average of 14.8
points per game. Alex Tyus had another solid
showing and is scoring 14.5 points. Wendell
McKines (14.0), William Buford (14.0),
Mayo (13.8), Zach Graham (13.5) and 2009
prospects Kenny Boynton (13.5) and
Terrell Vincent (12.8) round out the top 10
in scoring.
Love is the rebounding leader followed by King who
shot up the charts and is averaging 7.8 rebounds after
four games. D'walyn Roberts (7.0),
Carlton Fay (6.8) and McKines (6.5) round out
the top five rebounders.
Alabama commit Rico Pickett (4.8) is leading
camp for the second-straight day in assists. Eli
Holman (3.5) is the back-to-back leader in
blocked shots.