Floyd PAID for O.J. Mayo

[BlueintheFace]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4162444

Yahoo Sports has been all over the college basketball breaking stories of late. Looks like they are on top of this one too.

Here is the Original: http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news;_ylt=Aj.RAfl_BCw2EW8JAWNGeyA5nYcB?slug=ys-floyd051209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Reactions?

[speedevil2001]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4162444

Yahoo Sports has been all over the college basketball breaking stories of late. Looks like they are on top of this one too.

Here is the Original: http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news;_ylt=Aj.RAfl_BCw2EW8JAWNGeyA5nYcB?slug=ys-floyd051209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Reactions?

only $1000 that's all it took to deliver oj mayo. i was thinking it was at least 50K.
was it worth it tim?

[wolfpackdevil]

I really do not see this as being any big news for Mayo.

USC did not accomplish anything while Mayo was there. And he is cleary doing fine right now in the NBA.


Now for coach Tim Floyd, he should have coached his last game in college basketball. If he does not get banned from the NCAA I will be furious.

Paying a player to come to your college for only a year. Just Ridiculous!

he should be banned, no questions asked

[Poincaré]

As much as this kind of thing seems likely, couldn't we say that Floyd "is accused of paying for" Mayo? Duke Lacrosse sort of should have turned us into cynics about accusations. Any "if it did happen, we should crush him" discussions would be similarly unfair (although they haven't occurred yet) just as they were unfair in the lacrosse case. My two cents.

[SupaDave]

As much as this kind of thing seems likely, couldn't we say that Floyd "is accused of paying for" Mayo? Duke Lacrosse sort of should have turned us into cynics about accusations. Any "if it did happen, we should crush him" discussions would be similarly unfair (although they haven't occurred yet) just as they were unfair in the lacrosse case. My two cents.

Here here! Not to mention - a $1000? Trust me - if anything he paid more than that. Athletes do know the value of a dollar. They ALL get hook-ups.

Could it have happened? Yes. USC has been having quite the accusation run lately - Bush, Leinart, Mayo. But all of them have sounded more like unscrupulous folks around the athletes/programs that consider themself to be helping - or getting there's.

[dukeimac]

Seriously, what top notch high school player isn't bought any more. The payment just comes in many different forms.

Like hiring the kids dad to head basketball operations, when the program never had such a position before. Or hiring their AAU coach, yea it was all about their college coach.

Many of these kids are reported to have come from single parent homes with their mother working 2 or 3 jobs to get by and the kid is driving around the campus in a high end SUV, gas isn't free. Another one is how the parents just up and move to the city their kid is playing college ball at and those parents were having a tough time making house payments, why because they were stocking away the money so they could move with their kid?

And the more these kids play the waiting game, they are just waiting to see what someone will give them.

[geraldsneighbor]

Many found it odd that upon signing G Daniel Hackett they made his father strength and conditioning coach. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin.

Oh, and if your Arizona...my god your relieved you didn't hire this guy.

[Notthatguy]

Seriously, what top notch high school player isn't bought any more. The payment just comes in many different forms.

Like hiring the kids dad to head basketball operations, when the program never had such a position before. Or hiring their AAU coach, yea it was all about their college coach.

Many of these kids are reported to have come from single parent homes with their mother working 2 or 3 jobs to get by and the kid is driving around the campus in a high end SUV, gas isn't free. Another one is how the parents just up and move to the city their kid is playing college ball at and those parents were having a tough time making house payments, why because they were stocking away the money so they could move with their kid?

And the more these kids play the waiting game, they are just waiting to see what someone will give them.

And I might add they throw this term "Handler" around like it is supposed to inject some sort of genuine "care" or "concern" for the young men. For me all it really does is conjure images of the mafia guy that pulls the off white envelope out of his inside coat pocket to hand to Sonny Vaccaro ... I mean Tony Soprano. Here - someone take back my damn soapbox.

[BD80]

Shocked. I am just shocked.

That Floyd didn't have an assistant to handle the money and to take the fall. Maybe Tim is too mistrustful.

I remember thinking something was untoward when Mayo chose USC out of the blue.

[Turk]

I looked at the ESPN story and I call BS. I am NOT a lawyer AND I slept in my station wagon down by the river last night, and even I know 100% hearsay when I read it.

I do not believe Tim Floyd would be so incredibly dumb as to personally hand cash to anyone associated with Mayo, let alone Mayo himself.

That said, I also believe Mayo had plenty of walking-around money from any number of sources, which may or may not include people associated (however loosely) with USC. It is also likely that Guillory was probably not the only one collecting funds from those sources, taking a cut, and funneling the remainder to Mayo or his family.

[A-Tex Devil]

I looked at the ESPN story and I call BS. I am NOT a lawyer AND I slept in my station wagon down by the river last night, and even I know 100% hearsay when I read it.

I do not believe Tim Floyd would be so incredibly dumb as to personally hand cash to anyone associated with Mayo, let alone Mayo himself.

That said, I also believe Mayo had plenty of walking-around money from any number of sources, which may or may not include people associated (however loosely) with USC. It is also likely that Guillory was probably not the only one collecting funds from those sources, taking a cut, and funneling the remainder to Mayo or his family.

I tend to agree with Turk here. The dude making the claim was dropped from Mayo's entourage when Mayo went to the NBA and is apparently not associated with Mayo anymore. Sounds like a disgruntled former employee to me. "Yeah, Tim Floyd gave me a grand directly." Not to say some shady stuff didn't go down, but if this is true, Tim Floyd is Dave Bliss level stupid (in a less tragic situation, mind you).

[Duke #33]

only $1000 that's all it took to deliver oj mayo. i was thinking it was at least 50K.
was it worth it tim?

According to this link, Rodney Guillory recieved 200-250 grand for steering Mayo to the Bill Duffy Associates (BDA) sports agency http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ap.-usc-mayo&prov=ap&type=lgns

[blueprofessor]

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/9569020/NCAA-needs-to-throw-the-book-at-USC

Lots of money. Mayo would not give Floyd his cell number. Insisted contact be made with.....

Best--Blue Prof:)

[Kfanarmy]

I guess the most interesting case for me has always been Reggie Bush. Somehow USC, to date, has avoided any penalty associated with the allegations of payments and gifts to Reggie and family. I've always been fascinated that NCAA investigators would believe the coach's denial of any knowledge that the Bush family was receiving gifts when they had moved into a huge house in CA from the modest means they came. One has to believe the coach and assistants have no idea the means and living conditions of their biggest star players. Coach Carroll could have been quarantined in his house for the plague and I would just about guarantee he knew where and how the Bush family was living.

I don't doubt most allegations of what some ardent wealthy fans are willing to do for their programs and coaches' values and morals are as widely distributed as the rest of society, so anything is possible

[SupaDave]

I guess the most interesting case for me has always been Reggie Bush. Somehow USC, to date, has avoided any penalty associated with the allegations of payments and gifts to Reggie and family. I've always been fascinated that NCAA investigators would believe the coach's denial of any knowledge that the Bush family was receiving gifts when they had moved into a huge house in CA from the modest means they came. One has to believe the coach and assistants have no idea the means and living conditions of their biggest star players. Coach Carroll could have been quarantined in his house for the plague and I would just about guarantee he knew where and how the Bush family was living.

I don't doubt most allegations of what some ardent wealthy fans are willing to do for their programs and coaches' values and morals are as widely distributed as the rest of society, so anything is possible


Well the house is all too easy. Somebody rich owns it and then they rented it out at a STEEP discount to the family. Nothing against the law about that... Kinda like your momma buying a Hummer in high school even though everyone knows she can't afford it.

[tommy]

I looked at the ESPN story and I call BS. I am NOT a lawyer AND I slept in my station wagon down by the river last night, and even I know 100% hearsay when I read it.

I do not believe Tim Floyd would be so incredibly dumb as to personally hand cash to anyone associated with Mayo, let alone Mayo himself.

That said, I also believe Mayo had plenty of walking-around money from any number of sources, which may or may not include people associated (however loosely) with USC. It is also likely that Guillory was probably not the only one collecting funds from those sources, taking a cut, and funneling the remainder to Mayo or his family.

Incredibly dumb? Maybe at first glance. Or maybe not so dumb. Maybe Floyd wanted to have as few people in this loop as possible, which results in fewer potential witnesses against him. Gives himself more deniability. There's nobody to say, "Floyd gave me money to give to Mayo (or Guillory)"

Now I have no doubt either that there were major improprieties in the inducement of Mayo to go to USC. This kid was a basketball vagabond in high school, attached to a hustler like Guillory, and he was a kid who had zero connection to the west coast, known to be a one-and-done, and out of the blue he chooses USC, a school without any significant recent history of success, little national visibility, far from home, with no chance of winning a championship, and who employed a defensive-minded coach whose ethics were already questioned by many. And the school has tons of wealthy boosters who live and die with SC sports. Smelled from day one.

[allenmurray]

Well the house is all too easy. Somebody rich owns it and then they rented it out at a STEEP discount to the family. Nothing against the law about that... Kinda like your momma buying a Hummer in high school even though everyone knows she can't afford it.

Renting or selling something of value at a steep discount (anything more than the market would otherwise bear) is considered a form of remuneration A bit harder to prove, but still against the rules. If my employer rents me a house for a dollar a day, that is worth $1500 per month, you can' bet I'd better show the fair market value as income or the IRS will be quite interested. The principal is the same.

[dukeimac]

Some people might like to keep it limited to the "inner circle" of a few people and there are those who want it spread away from themselves.

The key is just making sure everyone in the chain is kept happy and fed. I think it can be done and is being done.

Floyd is in a tough position because he is new to the area so he is not sure about who he can trust and who he can't. So maybe he choose to do it himself, probably why he asked the guy to drive around. Technically, he can say he didn't give him the money because no one saw it. The only way is for the one who received to confess.

Recruiting a one-and-done guy like Mayo could lead to other recruits coming to the program (I think that is what Floyd was trying to do). You can always tell other recruits he may just stay another year or two, we don't know. Unless the guy comes out and says he is one-and-done you don't know. Thus, other recruits might just sign hoping he'll stay another year or two.

I like those guys who signed with Duke for the 2010 season already. I get the sense they are Duke guys but guys like Wall just feel bad, real bad. I have a feeling he is Kentucky bound. I wonder why I might have that feeling?

[blueprofessor]

http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/11746214/rss

Strong opinion from an old pal.

Best--Blue Prof:)