May 21, 2008 - 3:30 PM
0 shoutsLOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Southern California is set to tell the NCAA that it was unaware of any wrongdoing in the case involving O.J. Mayo, the Los Angeles Daily News reported Wednesday.
The report also stated that USC went so far as to ban promoter Rodney Guillory from receiving tickets to Trojans games as a way to limit Mayo from getting improper benefits.
Guillory, a runner for Billy Duffy Associates, is alleged to have given the star guard $30,000 in cash and gifts in order to buy representation from Mayo when he turned pro.
"Right now, we're just trying to weather the storm," an unidentified USC official told the Daily News.
Despite USC's claims, the report did give instances that refute the school's claim of innocence.
According to the Daily News, Guillory was frequently seen in the basketball offices and the locker room. He also regularly attended pickup games at the Galen Center when Mayo played last summer.
Why the Trojans would allow Guillory such access is unthinkable, especially after the promoter played a major role in getting USC player Jeff Trepagnier suspended by the NCAA in 2000 after it was discovered that he purchased airline tickets for Trepagnier and Fresno State's Tito Maddux.
The allegations against Mayo and Guillory were first revealed on May 11 when ESPN's "Outside the Lines" ran a story in which Louis Johnson, a former member of the basketball player's inner circle, told the sports network that Mayo accepted around $30,000 in cash and gifts during a four-year span from Guillory.
It was also revealed that Mayo's relationship with Guillory dated back to when he was a high schooler in Ohio and West Virginia.
Prior to Mayo joining USC, Guillory was given monthly payments from BDA, a Northern California sports agency, in order to buy a verbal agreement from Mayo.
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.
In light of the recent allegations, the NCAA has opened up a new investigation in Mayo and USC.
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 his press conference, he announced that Calvin Andrews, a member of BDA, would be his agent.
