February 12
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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A jump hook by Marc Gasol. A two-handed rebound by Zach Randolph. A bounce pass by O.J. Mayo. Grizzlies assistant coach Johnny Davis sees high art in the mundane. "They're not players who are looking to do theatrical things on the floor," Davis said. "They're not doing things for the highlight reel. They're not adding extra things that are unnecessary. The beauty of their games is that they don't waste motion. They're efficient." Their shared old-school ethic, comprising such drab components as drop-steps, tip-ins and box-outs, is rare in today's NBA -- and, according to Davis, a symptom of society. Flash and splash are celebrated. Simple and successful are not. But perhaps change is ..."
February 11
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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The future of USA Basketball is getting a face lift. And the Grizzlies could figure prominently in the makeover. Griz forward Rudy Gay and guard O.J. Mayo were selected Wednesday for a pool of 27 players who will eventually comprise the USA Basketball Men's National Team. The Grizzlies duo, along with former University of Memphis guard Derrick Rose, will participate in a Las Vegas minicamp in July. USA Basketball will thenplayers from the pool to finalize a team that will compete in the FIBA World Championships in Turkey starting Aug. 28 -- all of which is a precursor to the 2012 Olympics in London. "It's one of the things I wanted to do in my career," Gay said. "I'm definitely honored to ..."
January 28
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Grizzlies teammates O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol have been selected to participate in the 2010 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge in Dallas on Feb. 12 during NBA All-Star Weekend. Mayo and Gasol will play for the Sophomore team. They both played on the Rookie team last season. Mayo, a 6-4 guard, leads all second-year Western Conference players in scoring (18.1 points per game) while ranking among the top five in assists, steals, 3-pointers made, 3-point percentage and minutes played. Gasol, a 7-1 center, has emerged as a leading candidate for the NBA's Most Improved Player Award. He is averaging 14.9 points and ranks 16th in the NBA in rebounding (9.6 per game) and second in field-goal percentage ..."
December 18
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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His second NBA season boasts results that are similar to the first, but O.J. Mayo is giving the Grizzlies a different look. For the first time in his basketball life, the Grizzlies guard isn't being asked to carry a heavy offensive load. As a rookie, Mayo operated mostly as a gunner without much team success. As a sophomore, the 6-4 guard has crossed over into a glue guy who gladly holds back his individual talent to satisfy the Grizzlies' mantra: One Team. Memphis enters its game tonight against Indiana with a 10-15 record -- slightly ahead of last season's pace. The Griz haven't gotten less Mayo; rather, they've enjoyed a well-adapted new version. "I just want to win," said Mayo, ..."
November 28
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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As halftime speeches go, the Grizzlies likely heard the simplest and shortest one of their careers. What else could Griz coach Lionel Hollins say but "keep it up?" The Grizzlies experienced their best stretch of basketball in recent memory when they scored 21 unanswered points in the first half Friday night, and then cruised to a 106-96 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. That 21-0 scoring barrage bridged the first and second quarters, tying the Grizzlies' all-time record. The Griz had never scored so many consecutive points on the road. The decisive sequence staggered the Blazers and hushed a normally raucous Rose Garden crowd. The Griz routinely earned defensive stops and turned ..."
November 24
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Sacramento Kings coach Paul Westphal sat courtside about 90 minutes before tip-off, watching his players — a group that makes up the NBA's third-youngest team — while sizing up the league's youngest squad. Game stats Grizzlies 116, Kings 105 "They," Westphal said about the Grizzlies, "are going to be really good." Westphal finished the sentiment with this caveat: As soon as the Griz learn how to win. The Griz have earned high marks in certain areas and wins to go with them over the past week. Monday night, they used the Kings to draw up a 116-105 victory — their fourth in five games. An announced crowd of 10,109 in FedExForum saw the Grizzlies rebound from a bad loss against Milwaukee last ..."
November 23
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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The Grizzlies' O.J. Mayo has donated 500 turkeys and 500 hams so 1,000 families in the Huntington, W.Va., area can have a better Thanksgiving. The food was distributed Saturday at the A.D. Lewis Community Center, where Mayo honed his athletic skills as a youngster. His mother Alisha said it was her son's way of expressing his love for his hometown and the people who live there. In September, the Grizzlies guard paid for food and personal care items that were given to 400 families in Huntington. Mayo played at Huntington High his senior season before spending one year at Southern California. Head in the game, Nate Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni says Nate Robinson was not benched for taking a ..."
November 2
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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The scoreboard wasn't all that provided fireworks in what turned out to be a shootout Sunday night between the Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets. The Grizzlies had to douse an explosive shouting match between O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay on their bench before the end of a 133-123 loss in a wildly entertaining affair at the Pepsi Center. Mayo tossed in a career-high 40 points only to have the performance overshadowed by Nuggets' forward Carmelo Anthony's 42-point outburst, and somewhat marred by an incident during a late fourth-quarter timeout. Denver kept Memphis at arms length in the fourth quarter, never allowing the Griz to get closer than five points. Gay took exception when Mayo made a strong ..."
October 22
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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He has brought a pass-first, do-the-little-things mindset to training camp in hopes of accomplishing a few things. Mayo desperately wants to win, become more of a complete player and force the Griz to be cohesive, even at the expense of his own game. The second-year guard and runner-up to Chicago's Derrick Rose for last season's NBA Rookie of the Year award almost sounds as if he's happier about not being asked to be a dynamic scorer. "I figure I can do all of the intangibles," Mayo said as the Griz prepare to face the Miami Heat tonight in preseason action. "You may not see 30 points that night but if you look across the (statistical) line you can see I dibble-dabbled a little everywhere. ..."
May 2
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Unable to manufacture regular-season success over the past three seasons, the Grizzlies can boast of having some of the best rookies during that span. Rookie of the Year award runner-up O.J. Mayo and teammate Marc Gasol were named Thursday to the NBA's all-rookie teams. Mayo was selected to the first team, joining Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose (Chicago, by way of the University of Memphis), Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City), Michael Beasley (Miami) and Brook Lopez (New Jersey). Gasol earned second-team honors with Kevin Love (Minnesota), Eric Gordon (L.A. Clippers), Mario Chalmers (Miami), Rudy Fernandez (Portland) and D.J. Augustin (Charlotte). The last two Grizzly players to earn ..."
April 18
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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O.J. Mayo's strong finish to his rookie season garnered NBA recognition, but the Grizzlies' offseason got off to a bad start. Mayo received the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award Friday when the Griz also learned that they lost a random drawing to break a tie with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The tie-breaker determined draft order, so the Griz are slotted sixth, giving them 75 out of 1,000 lottery combinations. Minnesota will have one more (76) combination when the draft lottery unfolds May 19. Meanwhile, Mayo picked up the April honor after leading all rookies in scoring (18.5 ppg) and minutes (38.1 mpg) for the season. The 6-4 guard finished his first season ranked in the top ..."
March 23
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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He sat at his locker for several minutes. Motionless. O.J. Mayo's hands were cupped to hold his head, but parted enough for the Grizzlies' rookie to stare at the floor. Presumably, Mayo's deep thoughts centered on making sense of the downward spiral. When Mayo finally moved, his head wagged right and left -- a polite way of denying an interview request while maintaining silence. It was a scene that, frankly, summed up Mayo on the court over the past couple of months. Mayo has shaken his head disapprovingly more than he's celebrated making shots. His game -- dynamic, jaw-dropping and incredibly productive earlier in the season -- suddenly isn't making any noise. That is, unless you can hear ..."
February 17
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Grizzlies rookie O.J. Mayo doesn't see any reason why his teammates should start making vacation plans in February even though the standings tell most onlookers that their season is essentially over. "There are a lot of losses that should leave a bad taste in our mouths," Mayo said. "So we should come back ready to work and have a strong second half to the season." Mayo isn't alone. His sentiment was echoed by many Grizzlies as they prepared to take on the demanding post-All-Star portion of their schedule. Despite the 15-37 record, the Griz seem hungry to make a respectable run toward the finish of their regular season. "I'm positive about this team," rookie center Marc Gasol said. "I'm ..."
February 15
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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O.J. Mayo, somehow managing to be in four places at once, has been impossible to miss during NBA All-Star Weekend. On Friday, he collected 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge. On Saturday, he put on an entertaining performance during the inaugural game of H-O-R-S-E at the All-Star Block Party. But above all, Mayo loomed large over the city on three billboards that featured him in his Grizzlies uniform along with the phrase, "Welcome to the Show." The Grizzlies, stuck near the basement of the Western Conference with the fourth-worst record in the NBA, hoped to make waves, or at least a ripple, here this weekend by launching Mayo's ..."
February 13
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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O.J. Mayo will be larger than life during the NBA's All-Star Weekend. That's the Grizzlies' goal for the rookie as the franchise unveiled three different O.J. Mayo billboards Thursday in Phoenix as part of a Rookie of the Year campaign. The billboards feature a giant picture of Mayo and the tag line, "Welcome to the Show." The campaign is in conjunction with the launch of voteoj.com. The Mayo Web site includes interesting statistics and testimonials about the USC product from coaches, players and media members and will be updated with new features to help garner media support throughout the guard's run towards the 2009 Rookie of the Year award. "The great city of Memphis is fortunate ..."
February 6
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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He had been hearing it from the crowd -- and from one man in particular -- all night. As soon as he unleashed a crossover dribble in the first quarter, dropping his defender as he swept his way to the basket for a finger-roll layup, the comparisons were going to be inevitable. "Is that Todd or is that O.J.?" the fan shouted from the bleachers at the Southwind gymnasium last month. "Todd or O.J.?" It was intended as a compliment, which is not always the case: Todd Mayo, a junior point guard at Houston High School, has learned to deal with the attention, good and bad, home and away. In a strange way, he seems to invite the spotlight: From the No. 32 jersey he wears down to the NBA socks he ..."
January 28
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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There will be a strong Memphis flavor for next month’s rookie-sophomore game during NBA All-Star weekend in Phoenix. Grizzlies teammates O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol were named today to the rookie roster, along with former University of Memphis star and current Chicago Bull Derrick Rose. Former Mitchell High star Thaddeus Young, of the Philadelphia 76ers, is on the sophomore roster."
January 6
Memphis Commercial Appeal
columnist Geoff Calkins
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It was still in the first half of the Grizzlies' game against the Minnesota Timberwolves last week when O.J. Mayo rose to throw down an emphatic reverse dunk. "Oh, yeah," called a fan from the stands at the Target Center in Minneapolis. "We didn't need that here, did we?" It was the sound of pain, ladies and gentlemen. The sound of woe-is-us. And -- here's the really wonderful part -- it was coming from the other guys for a change. The other guys were fretting about the one that got away. The other guys were wondering what could have been. "If only O. J. Mayo had ended up in Minnesota ... " Instead, he ended up here. "Fortune smiled on us," said Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace. "We ..."
December 15
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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O.J. Mayo brought a little extra baggage to the arena Sunday afternoon. The Grizzlies' rookie guard had etched in his mind Chicago guard Ben Gordon's 18-point first-quarter outburst last Friday night. And Griz coach Marc Iavaroni wouldn't let Mayo forget with the Miami Heat and the NBA's leading scorer, Dwyane Wade, set to invade FedExForum. Mayo's response? It wasn't sheepish. Mayo unpacked an intense defensive effort and 28 points, guiding the Griz to their fourth straight victory with a 102-86 victory over the Heat on Sunday afternoon. "Ben Gordon got the best of me," Mayo said. "I wanted to have a good response. I wanted to make this game about my defense." Mayo was equally effective ..."
December 2
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo, who averaged 21.9 points per game in the season's first month, was named the league's T-Mobile Western Conference rookie of the month, the NBA announced today. Picked third in the 2008 NBA Draft and traded to the Grizzlies on draft night, Mayo compiled the highest scoring average for a first-year player in his first month since Allen Iverson's 23.4 ppg in 1996-97. Mayo ranks in the top 10 among rookies in scoring average, minutes, assists, steals, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage."
November 6
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Grizzlies rookie O.J. Mayo celebrated his 21st birthday Wednesday in low-key fashion. The guard, taken third overall in the NBA draft, didn't deviate from his normal game-day routine as the Griz prepared to take on the Sacramento Kings. Just another day at work for the USC product who impresses everyone in the organization with his maturity. Griz coach Marc Iavaroni is pleased with Mayo on the court, saying the 6-4 combo guard's transition to the NBA is going as well as can be expected. Mayo scored 28 points Wednesday night in the Grizzlies' 100-95 loss. Iavaroni said it shouldn't be lost that Mayo essentially is filling big shoes left by veteran sharpshooter Mike Miller. The Griz ..."
October 14
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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O.J. Mayo tries to never leave the practice court without making roughly 200 extra shots. For the first time this preseason, it seemed as though he made that many in a game. The Grizzlies' rookie experienced an offensive breakthrough Monday night, tossing in a game-high 26 points, including six 3-pointers as the Grizzlies beat the Indiana Pacers, 103-95, during preseason action in FedExForum. Mayo, the highly touted rookie taken third in the draft and then traded to Memphis, turned in his most assertive performance yet. He looked to score and he delivered mostly along the perimeter. "When Mike Miller and Juan Carlos Navarro were shooting well, we were a pretty good offensive team," Griz ..."
October 6
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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He often talks barely above a whisper. O.J. Mayo clearly wants his game to speak at a high volume. And the Grizzlies like the tone from their 6-5 rookie guard after one week of training camp. He arrives early and stays late. His competitive spirit never needs booster cables. Mayo is making a smooth transition so far. "He's shown everything he's shown before," Griz head coach Marc Iavaroni said, referring to Mayo's offseason work. "He's tremendous competitor. He pays a lot of attention to defense. He's got a balanced game. He's learning that he can be an assassin in this league." That Mayo isn't trying to do too much is perhaps his best characteristic. He's delivered the wow factor at times ..."