Todd Mayo: Big Picture

[brewcity77]

Right now, it's easy to be excited. The kid is electric, he can score, defend, and looks like a future star. I've already heard people debating how long he'll be here. But there's three factors I've been thinking about that really excite me.

1) On Court: Losing DJO after this year worried me. It seemed Vander would have to really step up, but watching this team, it's clear that VB has a completely different role from DJO. Mayo, however, looks like a natural fit in that role. It may help that Mayo is 1 year and 3 months older than Blue, or that he's been schooled by OJ, but regardless, I feel a lot more secure about 2012 and beyond with Todd here.

2) Recruiting Tool: Is there a better guy Buzz can point to than Todd for high-level recruits? This guy came in ready to play and immediately earned minutes. If you are ready to go, you'll get the chance to prove yourself. Honestly, I didn't expect this big of a role for any of the freshmen, but if I'm a top-level recruit looking at someone as talented as Mayo, I'm thinking that Marquette is a place where I can go and not have to wait on the bench to prove myself.

3) Name Recognition: Every time we are on SportsCenter, it seems we are being associated with NBA star OJ Mayo. As we've seen with Wade and Matthews, it's not a bad thing to constantly be associated with guys who can play at that level. In addition, it seems like OJ is more than happy to spend some time visiting his little brother.

It amazes me how many program-changing type players Buzz has brought in. Guys like DJO, JFB, and Crowder have changed the perception of JUCOs and quickly turned our program into one of those teams that are admired around the country. Jamil and Blue (and soon enough Burton) have helped improve our in-state recruiting. He's opening pipelines to Chicago, Texas, Virginia, and even California. We've gotten bigger, longer, faster, and more athletic, and I'm confident that Todd Mayo is another huge piece in turning our program around.

[Skatastrophy]

Great thoughts, I completely agree with all of them

[Wade for President]

I agree with you Brew. 

Mayo is incredible.  I haven't seen a player step in with that kind of offensive confidence and execution in my 16 years following the program.

Soooooooooo smooth...so effortless. 

We now are all huge OJ Mayo fans by association, and should hope that his NBA career starts to take-off (performed under expectations thus far IMO).

[Goose]

Enjoy him while you can. He has a chance to be special player and special players usually get paid to play.

[NersEllenson]

Agree with all that has been written here...Mayo just has "it."  That blocked shot he made last night was incredible.  Hate to even say it (in the sense of not creating sky high expectations), but he looks more like D-Wade than any player that has come through MU since D-Wade.  He plays very similar to Wade, and I'd say at this point is a much better shooter than D-Wade was (perhaps) ever in his MU career.  

I was as angry at Buzz as I could ever be (given my mancrush) last night for having Mayo on the bench almost the entire last 4 minutes of the game - save for the last defensive possession.  He needs to be on the floor at crunch time..period.  (Sorry Junior)

[Goose]

Ners---I was a afraid to throw out the DWade reference but glad you did. DWade made you watch and Mayo is making me watch. He needs to play when the game is on the line. Wade made others better and Mayo looks to be doing the same.

[g0lden3agle]

I've been part of some of these talks regarding how long he'll be here, and the biggest reason I don't see him going early to the NBA is his size.  When's he's out there on the court, something about him makes him look smaller than most of the other guards out there.  I'm shocked that we have him listed at 6'3" 190 on the roster.  He's actually the same height and 10 pounds heavier than Vander? Is that accurate?

[jsglow]

Great thoughts Brew.  If Buzz has a 'hole' need to fill one year, a great JUCO kid will know the history.  And the 'rap' about not playing a Frosh, well that's debunked too.  I like the fact that's it's December 2011 and I can already smell the starting lineup for 2012-13 (assuming Chris is fine long term).

[GGGG]

I've been part of some of these talks regarding how long he'll be here, and the biggest reason I don't see him going early to the NBA is his size.  When's he's out there on the court, something about him makes him look smaller than most of the other guards out there.  I'm shocked that we have him listed at 6'3" 190 on the roster.  He's actually the same height and 10 pounds heavier than Vander? Is that accurate?

No...they were standing next to one another at one point, and I think Vander has at least one, if not two, inches on him.

[BCHoopster]

The starting line-up for next year looks to be solid:

Otule
Wilson
Blue
Mayo
Cadougan

I see Juan Anderson, TJ Taylor and Steve Taylor with Gardner, DWilson being the next
5, and Durley, Ferguson and Jamil Jones rounding out the squad.

I see the following year they will need another big as there priority unless Durley is better
than what we all expect.  He does not even get much time at his high school, can not expect
him to jump in a few years as a starter.

[g0lden3agle]

No...they were standing next to one another at one point, and I think Vander has at least one, if not two, inches on him.

Ya I was using MUScoop's roster.  According to MU Athletics roster Blue has 1 inch and 10 pounds on Mayo.  That sounds about right.  I just don't know that Mayo has NBA-type size.  I hope that he thinks the same, stays for 4 years, and still gets drafted though!  

[NickelDimer]

Everytime he has the ball or is in the game for that matter, I expect something good to happen.  That's amazing to say about a freshman.  And his confidence is off the charts!

[Silkk the Shaka]

Ya I was using MUScoop's roster.  According to MU Athletics roster Blue has 1 inch and 10 pounds on Mayo.  That sounds about right.  I just don't know that Mayo has NBA-type size.  I hope that he thinks the same, stays for 4 years, and still gets drafted though!  

If he stays 4 years, I have a hard time believing the NBA would draft an undersized 24 year old 2 guard.  They draft on potential, not ability to dominate college kids 5-6 years your junior.  If he's going to get drafted, it will be early entry.

Either way, it's a win-win for MU.  If he stays 4 years, we get an excellent college player for that long.  If he leaves early, that likely means he will have had such a good season that MU wins a ton of regular season games makes a deep run in the tourney.

[MountainCreekHouse]

Mayo is incredible.  I haven't seen a player step in with that kind of offensive confidence and execution in my 16 years following the program.

I would argue that Dominic James had a pretty stellar freshman career, although because I was a little young when he was a freshman I may be a little off kilter with that.

I do want to bring up a point that seemed to happen to James later in his career was that he almost lost a little offensive luster as he got to be a junior and more-so senior. I've seen it happen to other college level athletes as well -- stellar first few seasons, and then the last couple they seem to plateau, or even become more inconsistent. We saw this especially with James' 3-pt and FT shooting in his senior season.

Any thoughts as to why this happens to some players? And hopefully it won't happen to The Clinic.

[NersEllenson]

I would argue that Dominic James had a pretty stellar freshman career, although because I was a little young when he was a freshman I may be a little off kilter with that.

I do want to bring up a point that seemed to happen to James later in his career was that he almost lost a little offensive luster as he got to be a junior and more-so senior. I've seen it happen to other college level athletes as well -- stellar first few seasons, and then the last couple they seem to plateau, or even become more inconsistent. We saw this especially with James' 3-pt and FT shooting in his senior season.

Any thoughts as to why this happens to some players? And hopefully it won't happen to The Clinic.

I'd propose it is all between the ears..as to why some kids excel then fall off.  Loss of confidence.  I don't see it happening with Mayo - he plays the game with an excellent feel/cerebralness....and his jumper is PURE.  James was great as a freshman, but as you point out completely lost "it," offensively by the time he was a Junior/Senior.

As for Mayo's size - too many times guys get caught up in measurables as opposed to production.  D-Wade was a question mark for many - is he a 1 or a 2?  Was Jordy Nelson a combine star? Sometimes you have to draft based on production - and Mayo will be a very productive player in his time at MU, and I believe could translate to the NBA.

[QuetteHoops]

The other thing I love about him is the fact that when he's on the bench we always seems engaged. He's the first one to stand up and cheer on the team and seems to mirror buzz in some ways...He's special.

[MarquetteBamaFan]

I like Todd as a college player just as much as everyone else here, but suggesting he plays like D Wade is crazy.  Wade is a bit bigger, a whole lot more athletic, and way quicker.  That's not to say that Todd has no chance at the NBA, but I think he has to become more of a combo guard before teams give him a look.  He actually reminds me of one of my favorite college players of all time, Randy Foye.

[Bob "Big Daddy" Wild]

On gomarquette.com, watch the press time with Mayo before they left for NY.  This guy is here to put in the work to make the league.  He is all business all the time, probably a reason why Buzz loves him so much.

[ATWizJr]

Love this kid's skill set, athleticism and confidence.

[Goose]

He has two big things going for in regards of going early:

1. His age
2. Being OJ's brother.

I would say if he was an 18 year freshman and no one knew his family going early would seem like a stretch. His brother was great college player but I think he is more complete than OJ was in college. Realize size is important but two mentione factors might work in his favor either this off season or the following.

[MUBurrow]

I'd propose it is all between the ears..as to why some kids excel then fall off.  Loss of confidence.  I don't see it happening with Mayo - he plays the game with an excellent feel/cerebralness....and his jumper is PURE.  James was great as a freshman, but as you point out completely lost "it," offensively by the time he was a Junior/Senior.

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.

[MerrittsMustache]

He has two big things going for in regards of going early:

1. His age
2. Being OJ's brother.

I would say if he was an 18 year freshman and no one knew his family going early would seem like a stretch. His brother was great college player but I think he is more complete than OJ was in college. Realize size is important but two mentione factors might work in his favor either this off season or the following.

More complete? In his only year at USC, OJ averaged 20-5-3 and shot 44% from the floor and 41% from 3. Todd is having an excellent season so far but he's not at the same level that OJ was.

Todd can find a place in the NBA. He's athletic and, most importantly, he can put the ball in the basket. Eddie House has been a 6' shooting guard in the league for a dozen years because he can score in bunches. IMO, Todd has a higher ceiling than that, but it's just a data point.

[Goose]

MM---Todd is showing he can play lock down D. Not so sure big bro ever could do that.

[TallTitan34]

More complete? In his only year at USC, OJ averaged 20-5-3 and shot 44% from the floor and 41% from 3. Todd is having an excellent season so far but he's not at the same level that OJ was.

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.

[NersEllenson]

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.

Good point you Mac in many ways..although he shot it as a freshman quite a bit better from the Field, though was a career 64% FT shooter other than senior year when he dropped to 46% from the line yet improved his FG% back up to 42% - which was still not better than his best year (Freshman) at 43%

Dom Freshman Year:                                     FG%  FT%  3PT%
31   32.5   15.3   4.5   5.4   1.6   0.4   2.8   .431   .641   .301

Sophomore Year:
34   33.2   14.9   3.1   4.9   1.9   0.1   2.6   .384   .651   .272

Junior Year:
35   30.3   12.9   2.7   4.4   1.8   0.2   2.1   .398   .664   .310

Senior Year:
29   31.4   11.0   3.4   5.0   2.1   0.3   1.9   .424   .461   .284