May 11, 2008 - 5:33 PM
0 shoutsBRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) -- O.J. Mayo, who is expected to be selected in the lottery in the upcoming NBA draft, accepted thousands of dollars in cash and gifts prior to and during his one season at Southern California, according to a report by ESPN.
On the sports network's show "Outside the Lines," Louis Johnson, a former member of the basketball player's inner circle, stated that Mayo accepted around $30,000 in cash and gifts during a four-year span from Rodney Guillory, an event promoter in Los Angeles.
Mayo's relationship with Guillory dates back to when he was a high schooler in Ohio and West Virginia, the report stated.
Prior to Mayo joining USC, Guillory was given monthly payments from Billy Duffy Associates (BDA), a Northern California sports agency, in order to buy a verbal agreement from Mayo that he would allow the company to represent him when he went pro.
Along with the cash, Mayo was supplied with a flat-screen television for his dorm room, cell phone service, clothes, meals and airline tickets for his friends and a relative, Johnson told ESPN.
Those were all blatant violations of NCAA rules. However, neither the NCAA nor the Pac-10 Conference found any violations when they reviewed Mayo's amateur status prior to and during his enrollment with the Trojans, the report stated.
Mayo averaged 20.7 points in 33 games as a freshman this season before announcing his intention to enter the NBA draft on April 9. At the press conference, he announced that Calvin Andrews, a member of BDA, would be his agent.
In a statement obtained by ESPN, Mayo stated that he did not engage in any wrongdoing, leaning on the fact that he was investigated thoroughly prior to stepping on the USC campus.
This is not the first time that Guillory has been involved in a scandal dealing with a USC basketball player, the report said. In 2000, the Trojans' Jeff Trepagnier was suspended after it was discovered that Guillory purchased airline tickets for himself and Fresno State's Tito Maddux.
