Mayo Holding His Own Jan. 7, 2009 by Ben Couch - NJNETS.COM

East Rutherford, N.J. — Having made only one of his first five shots in Wednesday's game against the New Jersey Nets, one could have excused Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo had he revealed his rookie status by getting flustered. But that's not how he operates.

Mayo stayed within the flow of the game and opportunity struck as the sixth minute ticked away in the second quarter. Bringing the ball upcourt with Nets superstar Vince Carter playing back, Mayo stepped up to the three-point line and calmly wetted a trey.

The 22-year-old guard missed his next three-point attempt, but one possesion later pumped a recovering Jarvis Hayes into flying by before stepping forward to bank a runner. By the end of the quarter, Mayo had hit two more threes and a pair of free throws, totaling 12 points and 15 in the half. He finished with 26 on 9-of-20 shooting, leading the Grizzlies in the 100-89 defeat.

"Many times young guys have trouble with the intensity level and understand how to let the game come to you," said Nets coach Lawrence Frank before the game. "He seems to have a sixth sense of how to do that. Plus, as a young player he’s got a defensive disposition as well -- he’s not just into getting numbers.

"I think they made a very bold move to acquire him in the trade, but you can tell they invested a lot of time to investigate and realized this guy could be a very, very special player. He’s a star-quality player."

Mayo spent much of the first half matched up with Carter, who seemed to briefly engage in a game of one-upmanship after Mayo's second three-ball. The Nets guard dribbled right upcourt and swished a long two with Mayo playing close.

Keyon Dooling switched onto Mayo in the final two minutes of the half, and the intensity of Dooling's defense initially flustered the younger player. Dooling cleanly stripped the rookie as he brought the ball up, feeding it to Vince Carter for a fast-break dunk that put the Nets up 16.

But Mayo again stayed in control. Twice on the next possession the Grizzlies passed to Mayo and attempted to free him with picks. Twice he was rebuffed and dumped the ball to a player at the top of the key. The play eventually broke down, time ticking off the clock, and the ball squirted to Mayo at the peak of the three-point arc.

He scooped it up and nailed a three as the 24-second buzzer expired.

"We've got to be aggressive and not put our heads down so quick," Mayo said. "It's a long ballgame, and we got down quick. That's when you play a little tougher, buckle down, roll up your sleeves and play a little harder."

Rhythm established, Mayo played efficiently in the third quarter, scoring seven points while sinking three of four attempts. He was 1-of-2 in the fourth before missing three longballs in the final two minutes as Memphis scrambled unsuccessfully to close an increasing deficit. It's the kind of overall effort (four rebounds, three assists and a steal) that has him earning strong consideration for Rookie of the Year. Nets coach Lawrence Frank said he considers Mayo the "odds-on favorite" while Dooling paired him up with Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls.

These accolades from the Nets despite their proximity to Brook Lopez, who entered Wednesday's game averaging 11.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 28 games as a starter. Lopez's numbers impress, especially considering centers traditionally develop slowly, but Mayo is on another level: 19.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.03 steals, while shooting .390 from three and .451 overall.

"That’s fair to say," Dooling said of Mayo and Rose (17.1 PPG, 6.0 APG). "Those guys are playing at an extremely high level. You look at their numbers, it’s crazy. They’re astronomical."

NBA success has come quickly for Mayo, but the goal remains to convert the individual results into team victories. Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni is confident Mayo is focusing on the big picture, and his guard parrots the thought, saying he's unaffected by any external discussions.

"Nah, right now it doesn't (matter)," Mayo said. "It's a long season and I put my team first. The first half of the season is winding down, and hopefully we can be a better team in the second half. We'll be a little tougher and leave everything all out on the floor, for 48 minutes or more."

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