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OJ Mayo enjoys time left at home before heading to USC
HUNTINGTON — O.J. Mayo spoke last week of visiting the dentist before he graduates from high school and leaves his hometown for the University of Southern California.
"I’m going to be 2,000 miles away and you have a new dentist and a new background," said the Huntington High All-American guard. "Here, my doctors know my teeth and my history, but it’s a whole new thing in college."
Mayo has a lot of things to do before he leaves for college, but he said his waning days in Huntington have been less hectic. He has even cut back on his legendary workout schedule, which included daily practices with the Highlanders and additional workouts with a personal trainer either in the mornings or evenings.
"I’ve just been chillin’ and trying to stay away from the court a little bit," Mayo said. "I’m just trying to enjoy my time with my family, because this is the first time I’ve had off since I was like 9 years old. We usually jump from the season to AAU.
"I’m just trying to take care of bumps and bruises and take care of my body. It’s those little things I’ve never had the time to do that I want to take care of before I head off to college."
Mayo played through more pain than he ever let on last season. He missed one game with a pulled hamstring that plagued him the first half of the season, and he also suffered a fractured wrist that hobbled him the second half of the season.
"I have a lot of bumps, bruises and fractures that I really never had a chance to take a look at because I didn’t want to hear the end results," Mayo said. "I just want to take care of those bumps and bruises and get ready for college."
But how many bumps and bruises did he play with?
"A whole lot," Mayo said. "I fractured one of my wrists, I think in the Artesia game. But it’s not something I want to dwell on. You can either play or you can’t play. You’re either hurt, or you’re not hurt."
And an injured O.J. Mayo is better than 90 percent of other players.
He hasn’t been given a report date by USC coach Tim Floyd, yet. But Mayo said he wants to arrive as early as permitted to acquaint himself with the campus and accumulate as many summer credits as possible to enable him to take a reduced course load during the season.
Finding a new dentist for that future million-dollar smile is probably high on his to-do list, too.
| " | He hasn't been given a report date by USC coach Tim Floyd, yet. But Mayo said he wants to arrive as early as permitted to acquaint himself with the campus and accumulate as many summer credits as possible to enable him to take a reduced course load during the season. |
