Todd Mayo: Big Picture

[MerrittsMustache]

By no means am I saying that Todd is better than OJ, however, at USC the offense was being run through him.  At Marquette, Todd isn't the main guy.

Fair enough. However, if the 07-08 version of OJ was on this MU team, the offense would be running through him.

Not trying to knock Todd, but let's have some perspective.

[MUBurrow]

[citing stats]

Wow, I at least partially stand corrected though, especially noting that his assist numbers nevery really went up, which I would have expected. From my memory, he turned much more prototypical PG in his later years, but the stats don't necessarily back that up.

[MerrittsMustache]

Wow, I at least partially stand corrected though, especially noting that his assist numbers nevery really went up, which I would have expected. From my memory, he turned much more prototypical PG in his later years, but the stats don't necessarily back that up.

When you drive and can kick to a shooter like Novak, it definitely helps your assist numbers.

[Lennys Tap]

There may be stats out there that contradict this, but I would argue that we were the ones responsible for blowing Dom up beyond what he was after that first year. We saw him competently handle the point as a freshman, distribute well, and then there were those hops. We all got super excited and started drawing up inappropriate comparables for him.  The NBA noticed, and as someone mentioned, they typically draft on potential. This meant that Dom's value in the NBA was as high as it would ever be after that first year, and decreased from there - similar to MLB, nothing gets GMs fired like "can't miss prospects."  I think that the combination of losing Novak - who was a perfect guy to stretch the floor, and then being a bit more constricted by what a PG should be as opposed to everyone's willingness to overlook the wildness of his Freshman year. I don't think he "lost it" as much as he just was what he was.

The lesson for DJ and other jaw dropping athletes with one MAJOR weakness is that NBA scouts will forgive a freshman and assume natural progression/improvement. Not so much with a sophmore, not at all with a junior or senior. He was a sub par shooter who never got any better, and as he plateaued he went from 1st rounder to no chance. In hindsight, I'm sure he wishes he'd left after his freshman year.