The OJ Mayo story is the logical result of the NCAA one-year rule. After giving the Lebron and Kobe and the likes the ability to go straight to the NBA and all the instant endorsements and celebrity that came with it it’s no shock what’s alleged to have happened in the Mayo situation. Mayo is a player that never would have set foot on a college basketball court if not for the one-year rule. He’s been a celebrity since the ninth grade and has clearly embraced the Lebronish spotlight since then. No one in their right mind can be surprised that he may have taken gifts before and while at USC.

Unless the NCAA and the NBA cleans up the AAU/Agent circuit and severely punishes agents that start courting players as early as the ninth grade these problems are going to continue. There’s going to be a lot of criticism of Bill Duffy but he’s just another cog in a corrupt system. With the one-year rule college basketball now has to deal with the whole mess. Clearly I can’t name names but it’s impossible to believe that Mayo is alone in receiving such benefits over the past few years since this one-year rule has been in effect.

The criticism of USC is a bit over the top but is also warranted. Tim Floyd clearly should have questioned a player who had his representative “recruit” USC instead of vice versa, especially when that player is one of the top-five in the country. As we’ve seen with the USC football team the lure of LA is strong for young players. These kids are celebrities in the ultimate city of celebrity. At the same time you have to understand Floyd’s predicament. He’s coaching in the highly competitive PAC 10 and trying to resurrect a program— who’s going to turn down a player like Mayo?

Then we have ESPN and another “gotcha” moment with the Kelly Naqi interview of Mayo, ala Miquel Tejada. The Dateline/Chris Hansen fad has moved into sports journalism, putting Mayo “on the spot” after his press conference to answer the allegations. Let’s remember the kid is still nineteen-years-old and is just one element of a system that enables him to receive alleged illegal gifts. What nineteen-year-old is going to turn down cash and electronics?