I can’t say with authority if Huntington, WV PG Ovinton J’Anthony Mayo knows how to work the system better than any high schooler in recent memory, but you’ve got to love the idea of Tim Floyd and Bob Huggins jumping through hoops (especially if they’re on fire). From the Herald-Dispatch’s Travis Hubbard.
Mayo continues to make individual headlines. He gave a verbal commitment to Southern California in the spring and USC scheduled a press conference only to have Mayo and his family back out.
He still lists USC as his top choice, but he wants to keep his recruitment open. Some reports have hinted that Mayo’s commitment to USC was because of his relationship with a Los Angeles-based AAU coach, Rodney Guillory, and that Mayo’s family is wary of the relationship. Mayo denies those rumors.
“I made a verbal commitment early to USC, but I’m going to take my ACT for the first time at the end of the month and visit my top five schools I have the most interest in,” Mayo said. “It’s the distance, and I also don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. I just don’t want to be 100 percent on one school without visiting other schools. I’d like to see what some teams do this year and what they have coming back and coming in.”
Mayo’s list of suitors has fluctuated each year, but the mainstays have been USC, Florida and Kansas State, where former North College Hill teammate Bill Walker is enrolled and former Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins is in his first season at the helm.
“Bob Huggins is one of my very favorite coaches,” Mayo said.
He also lists Connecticut, Kentucky and Lousiville. He’s previously listed many others, including Marshall, North Carolina and West Virginia.
“Put out my entire list because I don’t think they even know I have them on my list,” Mayo said three weeks ago. “I think everyone thinks I’m going to USC, which is fine because I did make a verbal and that’s who I have the highest interest in, but there’s other schools I have interest in.”