Last week I was watching ESPN when I looked down at the ticker and just missed something that looked special.
After sifting through 1,000 baseball scores, I caught it.
December 4, Jimmy V Classic, Memphis vs. USC, Derrick Rose vs. O.J. Mayo.
Two of the most hyped, talented, and anticipated incoming freshman in the country balling on top-ranked teams, against each other, in Madison Square Garden on ESPN, on the God MC's born day. Ugh!
D-Rose and O.J. went up against each other before in one of the best AAU games ever, but that was just a meaningless summer game. This is big. Big time.
I've come across a few message boards posing the soon-to-be very popular question, who is better out of the Chicago pg Rose or the West Virginia combo guard Mayo?
Let's break it down.
Athleticism - Young Pooh's rise has long been documented. He reminds you of a '98-'02 Steve Francis. Just explosive. He's cat quick and physically imposing for an 18-year-old. 6'3" and 200 lbs. Wow.
Outside of this highly publicized tidbit, Mayo isn't really that much of a athlete. His game is much more smooth. Speed and strength is also not his biggest draw, but at 6'5" and 210 pounds, he might not need much of it. ADVANTAGE: ROSE
Point guard skills - Rose is a pure pg who once won a state title in a game where he only scored nine points but completely dominated the game. In his much-talked about summer game against Mayo, Derrick had a triple-double...by halftime!
O.J. is a PG/SG who can play the position quite well, but works better as the finisher, not the passer. He also has been labeled as selfish by many people since he a freshman in high school. Not sure which position he'll play at Southern Cal, but for the Trojans' sake, they might want to take the ball out of his hands a little bit.
ADVANTAGE: ROSE
Star power - Mayo's been labeled as the next basketball prodigy since he was an eighth-grader, when he was touted as the "next Lebron James". His star has dimmed quite a bit as he has kinda failed to distance himself from the rest of his classmates, but O.J. is still ranked number in '07 by a lot of scouts, mostly on his name. The aforementioned dunk also kept his name on everyone's tongues and the story behind his commitment to SC confirmed he was a big name.
Rose is a quiet, humble guy who mostly lets his game do the jersey-throwing. He is coming in to school as the missing link to a team that made the Elite Eight, brings back seven of its top eight scorers, and is expected to be the preseason number 1 team because of him. ADVANTAGE: MAYO
Clutch - Derrick Rose stepped up big on national TV against the number 1 squad Oak Hill and 2008 top pg Brandon Jennings, putting up 28 points, nine assists, and nine rebounds in the win over the Warriors. He also hit a big time game-winning shot against 2008 star Tyreke Evans in a hyped-up AAU matchup.
Mayo's biggest shot actually came against Rose in their summer game last July. He famously missed the game-winning shot in the McDonald's All-American Game, prompting this rant from the Sports Guy. ADVANTAGE: ROSE
Pro potential - Both should be highly ranked coming out of college. Both will most likely be one and done. Rose is a 6'3-6'4 pure pg with amazing athletic ability, defensive prowess, and clutch mentality. Mayo is a 6'5 combo guard who has a tendency to play erraticly but still can get anywhere on the court he wants to. Mayo has a sometimes silky smooth jumper. Rose has a streaky shot that is improving steadily. Rose will play in a pro arena next year on a team that will be ranked number 1, play a top schedule, and is coached by a popular former NBA coach. Mayo will play in L.A. for one of the most prestigious schools in the country in a brand new arena. Mayo is touted as a future top 7 pick. Rose is viewed by most as the undisputed number 1 pick. ADVANTAGE: ROSE
Who's better? If you ask me, it's Derrick "Pooh" Rose all day, every day, and twice on Sundays.
But check out the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 4th and decide for yourself. I'm counting the days.
22 comments:
That was not a very objective piece. You are a Rose fan (short for fanatic) who wanted to get your objective across. (basically to convince people Rose is better than Mayo.)
If one has seen both players play a couple of games, it shouldn't take much convincing, at least in the televised games from high school. The odds are that both of them are 2 of the top 10 players in college basketball next year and that an unbelievably loaded Memphis Tigers team ends up in the final 4.
I too would be pick Derrick Rose over OJ Mayo though. For a 6'4" player, there's not a thing he can't do on a basketball court and do well, OJ Mayo does a lot of things excellently, but his game has some holes in it. I think it's like comparing Jason Kidd with a jumpshot to Ray Allen, when he was at UConn and wouldn't settle for jump shots as much, with a slightly better handle and more pure passing ability.
This isn't entirely objective, but that doesn't matter, because Rose is a better 5-on-5 basketball player. I like the Francis comparison, but I think Baron right when he got to UCLA is a better comparison because Rose at least knows how to run a team.
this post in nowhere near objective. you are a big Rose fan and throw salt into every "compliment" you give to Mayo's game. Rose's outside shooting isn't 10% the threat Mayo's shooting is. And Mayo has a huge advantage (at this moment) in star power; being a scorer draws attention, simple and plain (similar to Iverson being a bigger name that Jason Kidd, though Kidd may be better for most teams). And what NBA scout told you that Rose was a lock for #1 in the '08 draft? Rose and Mayo are both great, and neither of them has created that distinction such as Lebron, Tim Duncan, Shaq, etc. But you got poeple to respond to your post, though, which means you did your job and got our attention.
This post is very objective. I've actually been checking for O.J. since he was a 9th grader. It wasn't until Simeon played Oak Hill on ESPN that I had even heard that much about Rose. And I'm extremely critical about point guards. It is my opinion that Derrick Rose is better than Mayo, but I'm not saying Rose is trash. I'm just saying he's not better than Rose (or Eric Gordon for that matter)
@ Ty.
Baron is actually a perfect comparison, though BD is way more powerful off the dribble than Rose.
@ dre
I never said Rose was a lock to be #1, I specifically said that alot of sites (NBADraft.net, Chad Ford on ESPN.com to name two) have him as the number #1 pick in 2007.
Just to be clear, I'm not writing some off the wall type stuff to get everybody's attention. I simply stated my opinion, which is what blogging is. I do appreciate ya'll taking the time out to read the post, whether you agree or not. But for the record, as great as I think O.J. Mayo can be, I think Rose is and will be better.
Eric Gordon from Indiana is better than both of them. O.J. Mayo had a horrible McDonald's All-American Game with Eric Gordon playing defense on him. Gordon was hobbled in that game by a slight injury and Mayo still could not be an effective player.
Derrick Rose and Eric Gordon will be stars in the NBA and Mayo is the next version of Isiah Rider waiting to happen. I hope he stays away from drugs at USC.
For the longest, I have been giving advice to everyone who thinks OJ Mayo is better than Derrick Rose that they need to wipe the sleep from their eyes, and truly see that Rose is the real deal.
With that said, Mayo will have the better college and NBA career.
I doubt Mayo has a better NBA career. Maybe in terms of scoring. But I can tell that Rose is gonna be one of those dominant pgs that leads great teams. If I'm wrong, we never had this conversation.
I like Gordon's (and Mayo's) game because it's so defined. You know he's gonna score a lot, he knows he's gonna score a lot, and he still does it at a high level. I still see a little bit of ball hog though, but why pass when you can't be stopped.
both players are great. i say Rose if you want a point gaurd. Mayo if you want a shooting guard. As far as NBA, Mayo will do better because of the intangibles he has: work ethic, bball IQ, determination, competitive drive. Rose will put on a better show in every aspect but shooting. Mayo will hit more big shots and game winners in his career. Honestly, i like Mayo more, he has presence.
See, I think O.J. has all those intangibles; competitive, presence, all that.
But from what I've seen of Rose (a lot), he looks like he has that edge that most guys who weren't as publicized as some of their classmates have. In 2003, Mustafa Shakur was more hyped than Chris Paul. Telfair was more hyped than Shaun Livingston.
Rose is as competitive as Mayo yet still humble and I like that. I still think Rose will have a better NBA career because there is a premium on true pgs and its the most important position.
I think the obvious pick between these two is Rose. No matter where or when he plays, he is the difference maker because he does it all and no move is the same as the last. Mayo is just big. He's a 6'5 bully. At the next level where the pace of the game picks up, his deficiecies will show. I too think this piece was objective, but it is the truth. Mayo's stock is riding on what he was doing in 8th grade. I think if you really want to look into what type of player he is/will be, all you have to do is look at the final dunk of his high school career where he did a detroit piston thing and walked off the court. That was arrogant and showed that he probably reached his peak - seeing as all he did was throw the ball of the backboard and throw it down with 2 hands. Not really hard for a 6'5 guy. Rose on the other hand will be on the cover of all hoop magazines by the middle of the season. The guy is truly unbelievable and he is a proven winner. Pound for pound in the high school arena, he is the best PG prospect in the last 10 years.
he is the best PG prospect in the last 10 years.
I'm starting to believe that with every second. My whole thing with Mayo is, when you see him on the court against other great competition, it looks as if he's trying too hard to prove he's the best out there and sometimes he fails at it. Plus he's a product moreso of what people have said about him for years.
Rose basically just goes out and plays his game, which is better than anybody's in his class. He literally looks like a man amongst boys out there. In the high school all-star games, he didn't try to make it a Derrick Rose show. I would have like to see him dominate, but he showed what he's gonna do next year and that's be a true distributor and score when he needs to.
Don't get me wrong Mayo got game, but Rose >> Mayo.
I have to agree with you in that Mayo is a selfish player, I saw that AAU game against Rose. Mayo was incredible in some stretches and then downright horrible. Rose is polished PG that runs a team quite effectively, however we have to remember that every high school all-american is that way. Rose is going to play in a weak Confernce USA next year which help his stats, it will be interesting how he plays against top level competition where his mere athletism won't let him get by. Mayo is a rare breed. He's extremely creative with the ball and can't basically get any shot he wants. Who will have a better pro career will depend on who can adapt the very physically and fast NBA...Right now I'd have to say that whoever has the faster feet will fare well..don't forget to metion Eric Gordon
@ Les:
Yeah, Rose will play in a weak C-USA this year, but remember that Memphis plays one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country, including the aforementioned Memphis/USC game in MSG.
O.J is the better player, hands down. Mayo can do everything and anything that rose can do. Mayo plays as a team player until he has to score all of the points to keep his team into the game. If Mayo attacked from the tip off he would eaisly average 35ppg.
kate spade handbags
fila
fila sneakers
moncler
balenciaga shoes
hermes belt
nike shoes
louboutin shoes
ferragamo belt
golden goose outlet
replica bags new york joy replica bags review replica bags canada
discover this info here YSL Dolabuy you could look here good quality replica bags click here for more info Dolabuy Dior
Post a Comment