NBA Draft good for USC, bad for Mayo (Rivals.com)

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:33:00 PDT

There weren't any mentions of credit card fraud, NCAA violations or shady runners Thursday night at the NBA...

USC Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:01:21 PDT

The math sounds good.

But most USC fans probably won't buy it.

"Ninety-six percent of our scoring came from freshmen and sophomores," USC coach Tim Floyd said after the Trojans were eliminated from the NCAA tournament after an 80-67 first-round loss to Kansas State. "We have a lot to look forward to."

As good as it sounds, the equation might be entirely different. Star freshman O.J. Mayo (20.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg) turned pro. He was projected as an NBA draft lottery pick, and seemed certain to leave before he arrived.

Fellow freshman Davon Jefferson (12.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg) also left for the pros, leaving Taj Gibson (10.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg) to drive the Trojans in 2008-09.

Likewise, Gibson claimed to be focusing on other things.

With the consistent turnover,...