Report: O.J. Mayo to Attend Huntington High School

The Facts: A report from WSAZ-3 TV in Huntington, WV says that the #1 ranked senior in the country according to scout.com will enroll at Huntington High School in West Virginia today. Huntington High is a public school with roughly 1,700 students. It is no stranger to success, as it will be attempting to defend its West Virginia class AAA state title for the second consecutive year. Mayo had previously played at North College Hill, a public school in Cincinnati, where he helped lead his team to the past two Ohio Division III state titles.

According to scout.com, Mayo made the move in part to be closer to his mother, who resides in South Point, Ohio. His flee from North College Hill is also likely a consequence of lifelong teammate Bill Walker being ruled ineligible to play by the Ohio High School Athletic Association for the upcoming season (HLBT, 7/11).

Mayo's new partner in crime is no slouch, however. Huntington High School senior Patrick Patterson, a powerful 6'8" forward, is a 5 star recruit whose services are coveted by schools such as Duke and Florida (both have offered).

This situation is a bit suspicious however (not a surprise considering who the focus of the article is), as Huntington head coach Lloyd McGuffin says, ""I've pretty much heard the same thing everybody else has heard, but until he's registered I can't say anything at all. Neither he nor anyone from his family has contacted me."

According to USAToday, Huntington High guidance counselor Melanie Beckett has been told of Mayo's pending transfer, however would not confirm the reports "because of confidentiality reasons."

My take: If Mayo does indeed play basketball for the Huntington Highlanders this winter, it should set the school financially for the next couple of years and bring in another state title, though it will not be all fun in the sun at Huntington. Mayo is no saint. He lives his life more like Carlton rather than the "couple of guys who were up to no good." Controversy just seems to like the guy. He has been in the news before for allegedly beating up classmates. He was supposedly left back a year in middle school for no reason other than that he wanted a one year "advantage" on his classmates, his competition. He has since transferred schools at least twice. He had been living with his AAU coach near North College Hill rather than with his mother. He has supposedly "been committing" to USC for the past few months now, though still not even so much as a verbal on record. His press conferences to announce his decisions have all been canceled at the last minute. And why USC? Not because they have a good team or he likes the academic atmosphere. It is because they are in a big market and it will give him maximum exposure. Not exactly a traditional upbringing, even for an elite level basketball player, and that's saying something.

O.J. leaving North College Hill makes it seem as if all is not well with Bill Walker in terms of regaining eligibility. There was and still is speculation that he'd like to try to be in the upcoming NBA draft, though Walker has maintained that his main priority is to regain eligibility and play this upcoming high school season. If O.J. felt that he would be playing alongside Bill this season, I doubt he would not have left school. Either that or they feel like they need to accelerate their divorce, as it does not look like they will be attending the same college (Walker is very interested in Kansas State).

I wonder where WSAZ-3 TV got its information from. Not too long ago, a Cincinnati news station was reporting that O.J. was suspended from school for 180 days. Stunningly, this was a bit exaggerated, as he was suspended for less than a week. Hopefully this report is at least somewhat more accurate. We will know soon enough, as school officials mentioned that they expect to know by today (Monday).