More innocent, huh?
One of the biggest arguments that the college basketball apologists make when claiming their sport is better than the NBA is that the college game is more fun because the atmosphere is purer, that it's not about the name on the back on the jersey, and that it's not all about the money.
Right..... I think OJ Mayo just blew that one to smithereens. College basketball has been plagued with seedy dealing like this for decades, whether it's Sam Gilbert at UCLA, Ed Martin at Michigan, Myron Piggie with several players, or Rodney Guillory with Mayo. Gilbert was paying UCLA players back in the 60s and 70s, at the height of the John Wooden era, so this is nothing new. College basketball has been dirty for decades, and will probably stay that way for a long time. Face it: when your team's best players are riding around in SUVs even though they came from a single family home in the 'hood or are straight off the farm, it's not because moms hit the lottery. They got paid by someone you'd rather not know about.
Don't blame the one year rule, though
I've heard some people blame the one-year and out rule for Mayo's indiscretions, basically saying that since he knew he'd only be there for a year anyway, there was no reason to play by the rules. That's nonsense. Like I just said, payers have been ridin dirty since the days of freshman ineligibility and mandatory four year stays in college.
Blaming OJ Mayo's situation or any other one like it on the one-year rule is just crazy. If you went back to the straight from high school rules, the pay to play game would just move down to that level. There's no stopping it, other than making sure all the players have enough money on them while at school to keep them from being enticed by boosters and runners offering free clothes, cars, etc. It doesn't matter how long they're in school. As long as there's a cash shortage on their part and people willing to make up for it, you're going to have an issue with this.
Do blame USC, however
Between OJ, former Trojan basketballers Jeff Trepaignier (sp?) and Tito Maddox, and several players on the football team (Reggie Bush and others), there are a lot of Trojans who've been jammed up as of late for getting cash and gifts under the table. I know, I know, this happens everywhere.
But it's running rampant at USC right now, and guys are getting real sloppy with their transgressions. Mayo and Bush both told the guys who got them money 'thanks, but no thanks' when the time came to hold up their parts of the bargain. What's that about? Did they really think that the guys they took money from would keep quiet after getting dissed like that?
Anyway, other schools have gotten slapped pretty hard by the NCAA for lesser crimes. So, there'd better be a serious investigation or else it will be obvious that there's a double standard when it comes to rulebreakers.
I must be the money..
Maybe they will leave me alone now