OJ Mayo & Co. to the NBDL, Not College? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Mayo would likely be going straight to the NBA if it weren't for the new minimum requirement rule that was agreed to by the NBA and its players' union. The new rule, beginning in 2006, states that a player must be 19 years old in his draft year and one year out of high school to be eligible for the NBA. Mayo would be 19 when he finishes high school but still has to wait a year to go to the draft. "Money is going to be there regardless if it's this year or next year," Mayo said. "I don't want to become a selfish player and don't want to hold out on [Walker and Ellis] for a couple of dollars. My dream is to go somewhere together and win a national title. "Thirty-six months. That's how I look at it. I've been waiting since I was a little kid and my dream is to go to the NBA, but I'll be humble and work hard." Don't think for a second that schools will pass on Mayo and Co., because they're worried about him only being around for one year. Remember Carmelo Anthony? Last time we checked, he won a national title in one year at Syracuse. Mayo said Anthony went into a good situation with Gerry McNamara (a freshman at the time) and Hakim Warrick (a sophomore) when the Orange won the 2003 title. So how should schools recruit him? Former Cal coach Todd Bozeman, who was Mayo's coach at ABCD, said schools should recruit him with a backup plan in mind. There are rumblings of some sneaker company coming through with a major deal for Mayo to allow him to go to the NBDL or prep school or overseas to pass the time before he would become draft eligible. But that doesn't seem to interest Mayo. The D league? "I don't know about the D league, I couldn't name two teams," Mayo said. "I saw a few episodes on TV once. I know it's a league of guys trying to make it to the NBA. I don't know anything about the D league. I didn't even know they had an age limit. No one talks about the D league in high school."</div> Source
OJ Mayo,Bill Walker and 2 other top players in the 07 class have,(so far) agreed to go to college togather. Scary. Anyone about to earn multi-millions should spend 2 yr in college with the idea being to learn about managing money,learning to act like a guy with class. Coming to the pros with college success is a plus,and for a star like Mayo,the opportunity to build a strong overall game against good players is a plus
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting playmaker14:</div><div class="quote_post">yea but you have to be one year removed form your senoir year in high school.</div> Yeah, I just revised the new rules on the CBA and saw that.
The NBDL may not be so bad, but cellege would be better for OJ because there is better competition there.
I don't know what OJ Mayo or Bill Walker would gain by going to the NBDL instead of college. Sure they would make a few bucks from this shoe contract but why not wait a year or two and be a top five pick? That's about $4 million in his rookie year, plus you don't think he'll get a shoe contract by then? It would be great for the NBDL but it just seems flat out stupid. All Mayo and Walker have to do is attend a college in 2007 together, then declare for the draft in 2008. They both will be top five picks, they get their money, they spent a year in college (one would hope that college is North Carolina ), everybody is happy.
I don't see this happening, but it's sad how much hype these High School kids are getting lately. Nobody even knows if these guys will turn out to be anything. Let me give you the top three names in the class of '01 - Kelvin Torbert, Dajuan Wagner, Kwame Brown (can you say bust?). Their fates could become the fates of Greg Oden, O.J. Mayo, or Bill Walker. These kids should be impact players their fershman years, no doubt. I just think it's a little silly that people act like whichever team gets the "Mayo package" will win the title. And that's another thing, what's up with these package deals? First there are the Ohio State package (that could get even better if Young goes there), and now there's the Mayo-Walker-Ellis package. Everyone wants to be the Fab Five. Sorry people... not happening.
