OJ Mayo vs. Deron Williams

[Don Draper]

Court vision, ball handling(as mentioned), passing(Williams was the best assist man in the B10 at age 19, how old is Mayo now? 21?), shooting all clearly go to Williams, imo. Mayo has the athleticism that scouts look for, but I'm not sure he is playing with a full deck. Time will tell, but I don't think any GM wants a player like Mayo running the point. He has the natural ability to develop in to an all-star SG, but the odds are stacked against him.

OJ Mayo is a better shooter than Deron Williams.

[Don Draper]

I think OJ Mayo is the 3rd best prospect in the draft for the simple fact he plays defense. Coming into this year I thought Bayless was a stud, I still think he is but I hate the fact that he has no commitment to defense. OJ Mayo defends. Period. In the NBA defense wins championships, and to get a guy like this who is a proven scorer and willing to defend is pretty rare.

[SeattleJazzFan]

-= original quote snipped =-



OJ Mayo is a better shooter than Deron Williams.

hysterical. Deron shoots 51% FGs in the NBA, while Mayo shoots 44% in college. Deron shoots 40% from NBA 3pt range, while Mayo shoots 41% from the college line.

Mayo is definitely the better shooter.

[BubbaTee]

-= original quote snipped =-



That's been my exact opinion for a while. I didn't start watching USC basketball until late January, but I came away thinking that it was about the worst possible offensive philosophy for Mayo. Switch Rose with Memphis and I wonder if everyone is raving about Mayo right now and the incredible pro he's about to become.

They really had no choice but to slow the game down because USC's bench was thin garbage all year. In their second game against UCLA 4 Trojan starters played all 40 minutes.

[bill curley II]

Mayo just doesn't know how to free himself up. In a 3pt contest type setting, he's an excellent shooter, but his fg%'s don't reflect that b/c he takes horrible shots, some due to the offense but mostly b/c of himself.

If he learns to move without the ball, use screens, and square up better off the dribble, then he could be as good as say a Ray Allen type SG, but that's going to be incredibly hard to develop since most of that is just instincts, and right now, I don't see him being anymore than a McCants or MoPete type player of being a fringe starter/good backup.

[Paydro70]

-= original quote snipped =-



hysterical. Deron shoots 51% FGs in the NBA, while Mayo shoots 44% in college. Deron shoots 40% from NBA 3pt range, while Mayo shoots 41% from the college line.

Mayo is definitely the better shooter.

Deron shot 42% on FGs in college, and ~37% on 3's in college. The relationship is nowhere near as simple as you've made it out to be, but Mayo is certainly a better shooter than Deron was at the time.

I don't really see the relevance of this comparison though. Deron is a true point guard, OJ is not. Mayo will most likely be a better scorer at the next level than Deron, but will never be comparable on point guard skills.

[Butter]

Jonathan Givony: Do you see yourself as more of a Brandon Roy kind of player who operates in the mid-range, or are you going to be more like an Allen Iverson, a slasher and a high volume free throw guy?

O.J. Mayo: I see myself as more of a Deron Williams. I can get to the basket; I feel comfortable shooting the jumper off the dribble or spotting up, I can keep other players involved and the overall energy level up.

Jonathan Givony: Is that your favorite comparison right now, Deron Williams?

O.J. Mayo: Yes sir.

[url]
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/O.J.-Mayo-238/[/url]

Do you all still think that's a bad comparison? Is he just saying this to try to make himself look better, or is there some truth to those quotes?

[667Club]

Everyone knows his real model is Kobe .. But you can't say you want to be like Kobe. Outside the personnality of Bryant and his past issues, it's nearly like saying you are comparable to Michael Jordan ..

[KnickDaddy]

O.J. Mayo is not a Deron Williams type at all. Mayo is a 2 guard. He cannot and should not play the point. Mayo is a catch and shoot scorer. Kind of like Rip Hamilton. Mayo is not very good at running the point at all. He doesn't have the passing instincts and he forces the issue way too much which results in a ton of turnovers. Mayo will be a 20 ppg scoring 2 guard.

[priest]

Everyone knows his real model is Kobe .. But you can't say you want to be like Kobe. Outside the personnality of Bryant and his past issues, it's nearly like saying you are comparable to Michael Jordan ..

lol its crazy when oj mayo said his favorite player is magic johnson and would like to be like deron people still think they know the truth. you gotta love the internet

[GSW2K4]

O.J. Mayo is not a Deron Williams type at all. Mayo is a 2 guard. He cannot and should not play the point. Mayo is a catch and shoot scorer. Kind of like Rip Hamilton. Mayo is not very good at running the point at all. He doesn't have the passing instincts and he forces the issue way too much which results in a ton of turnovers. Mayo will be a 20 ppg scoring 2 guard.

I agree with you here -- this comparison is probably not valid.

Williams and Mayo are different players -- Mayo is definitely a scorer with pg potential, Williams was always a pg with the ability to score.

But I think eventually with his size and ability, Mayo can have the same impact on a team as a play maker, if he's surrounded by the right players.

I understand the argument that he could take a Chauncey Billups type progression where it takes a while to develop into a pg...

As I've been watching the Spurs this post season, Mayo might eventually settle in to a role similar to Ginobili's -- a play maker from the two. But I also think he could end up comparing favorably to Rodney Stuckey as a combo guard... or Randy Foye...

It's too early to tell.

While I don't think Mayo will be the perennial allstar or superstar the hype suggests he'll be, I think he will be a solid play maker from the 1 and 2 spots. He'll be a weapon worthy of whatever pick he's taken...

Point is -- we're not looking at a proven point guard prospect whereas Deron Williams clearly was.

[GSW2K4]

Something else I've wondered about regarding his pg ability is how USC used him...and I'll admit upfront I didn't watch many USC games very closely...so I'd like to hear other people's thoughts.

People are reporting that Tim Floyd -- who is clueless as far as I'm concerned when it comes to bball strategy -- used Mayo primarily as a scorer because he wanted him to focus on scoring which is what USC needed.

(I think this video of Floyd on youtube demonstrates that Floyd is a) clueless and b) as star struck as anyone else and c) a willing participant in Mayo's one year publicity stunt, rather than trying to develop him as a player: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Pcjt7oJqc)

If that is true -- somebody who watched more USC ball can confirm -- then we really haven't seen what Mayo can do as a full-time point. Floyd made it the Mayo show (which is part of the reason he went there in my opinion).

My thinking is he has the tools and can learn the point guard because he has the instincts. He sees the angles well, understands spacing, and knows how to create opportunities. He's not like some combo guards who don't have pg instincts, he just hasn't been asked to use them. He'll need time to develop and once he gets it and in the right situation, he'll be fine.

Plus, keep in mind -- not a finished product -- Mayo, Rose, nor Bayless are finished products. They were freshmen. They all have the tools but they were adjusting and still performed well enough to be considered top 5 NBA prospects.

[The_Believer]

Mayo will likely be a huge crowd pleaser but I'm not sure about his success. Deron isn't nearly as flashy, but will likely have much more team success.

[takin'over]

Mayo has the vision to play PG. He can make passes that more than a few starting PGs in the league can't. The thing about Mayo is, he wants to be great. Also, there haven't been many All-Star caliber SGs enter the league for a number of years and if he ultimately winds up playing the 2, Mayo could be the best one to come along since Dwyane Wade. Mayo could be wind up as the best player from this draft class and with his skills, he almost has no chance of being a total bust.

[Ern III]

OJ Mayo is a better shooter than Deron Williams.

We're talking about a basketball at a basketball hoop.

[cookie]

Mayo has the vision to play PG. He can make passes that more than a few starting PGs in the league can't. The thing about Mayo is, he wants to be great. Also, there haven't been many All-Star caliber SGs enter the league for a number of years and if he ultimately winds up playing the 2, Mayo could be the best one to come along since Dwyane Wade. Mayo could be wind up as the best player from this draft class and with his skills, he almost has no chance of being a total bust.

I couldn't have said it any better. ill guarantee he will be a great player in the nba

[revprodeji]

If you let a 6'5 Mayo create and flow from the SG spot next to a good shooting PG and a strong post player than I think Mayo will have a very good NBA career.

[old rem]

-= original quote snipped =-



Ball handling...big difference.

Mayo has not shown the ability to put the ball on the floor and maintain his dribble when the defense comes at him nor the ability to drive by the defender off the dribble consistently. Kinda important skills that NBA PG's (especailly starting caliber ones that you expect to be good to great) should have. Deron Williams had better handles and was able to dribble into traffic and even by his man quite regularly at Illinios.

So ultimately the net difference is Deron Williams is a PG, OJ Mayo is not. Mayo, if he's really 6'5" might be more along the lines of a Brandon Roy.

It's hard to compare the "Pure Playmaker" skills of a All-NBA guy and a college freshman. Mayo was a PG in HS...sort of,at around 6-4 1/2,he also averaged about 25 pts over a 4 year HS career,but found enough options to avg as high as 8+ assists in one of those seasons. Compared to college players...Mayo has plenty of handles,court awareness etc. I don't think he can match Deron's first step but Mayo is real quick and agile. PG involves handling and distributing,but the reality is you do need an NBA PG to score too. Mayo has more Shooter-Scorer skills than D Rose. More than D Williams had early in his college career.

USC didn't "showcase" Mayo in a pure PG role at all,and early season he was deferring to the Trojan's young veterans. Mayo HAS a lot of background/experiance/skills/tools for a freshman but needs a stable role for awhile to really dial all that in. He's been on a different team each of the last 3 years.

He's a PLAYER. PG? yeah. SG? yeah. He does not have the pure speed of M Ellis or Kidd's court vision,or Nash's hands but he's got a very nice foundation and the drive to become an elite player.