Mayo investigation could affect Ironton's runner-up status

[philthyphil]

In one of the best state championship games in Ohio High School Athletic Association history, the Ironton Fighting Tigers nearly pulled off a huge upset in the 2004-05 title game.

Ironton just missed winning the state title to North College Hill who had loaded up with the likes of O.J. Mayo, Bill Walker and Keenan Ellis. Ironton had a chance to win in the final seconds before losing 71-65.

Instead, Ironton had to settle for a state runner-up. Or did they.

In light of the recent allegations regarding Mayo, the OHSAA is investigating the possibility of stripping North College Hill of its state titles.

OHSAA bylaws state that eligibility concerns must be brought about within 42 days of the completion of the state tournament. But OHSAA assistant commissioner Bob Goldring said other bylaws could come into play such as matter concerning amateur status.

If Mayo accepted money in high school it would take way his amateur standing. The bylaw states an athlete forfeits eligibility if he or she “capitalizes on his/her athletic fame by accepting money, merchandise or services of value based in whole or in part upon the notoriety the athlete received through his/her athletic skills and achievements.”

An ESPN story on Sunday said Mayo associate Louis Johnson suggested that Mayo violated OHSAA and NCAA amateurism rules by accepting $30,000 worth of gifts from a rogue agent, Rodney Guillory.

Mayo — who is now with Memphis in the NBA — played at Southern California last season and was at Huntington (W.Va.) High the previous year. He attended North College High the previous three years.

According to the Goldring, Mayo could be penalized if he received money and/or gifts from a street agent during the past four years.

Southern Cal has imposed its own sanctions. The Trojans will forfeit their 21 wins and the money they received from playing in the NCAA Tournament.

Ironton could be awarded a state title or remain the runner-up. Either way, don’t expect a quick resolution.

Jim Walker is sports editor of The Ironton Tribune

[biggdowgg]

I remember a few years back,a team up Norh was stripped of a Title, but no one was awarded it,the runner up,remained runner up.

Im guessing this is OHSAA decision?

either way,,sad thing is,,Mayo could care less

[BigOrangeOne]

That would mean that NCH would have to forfeit their games with other teams they defeated in their advancement to the championship game, too... in the semis, Regionals etc. So wouldn't those defeated teams have a legitimate claim also? It would be purely speculative if Ironton would have defeated them if they had met.
Would it be more fitting then to just remove NCH's title and not name a champion since it would be a subjective call as to who might have won the championship had it played out legally ?
With Ironton's pride and tradition, I'm not sure they would even accept the title under those conditions anyway.

[Frank Reagan]

I just checked the OHSAA website for the 2005 D-IV champ and it has Lutheran East as State Champions with a 2-0 win over Columbus Africentric after Africentric was stripped. Just to show that the OHSAA didn't keep that title vacant.

[boy of summer]

The sadder thing is that no one did anything back then on the state level (namely the OHHSAA) to discourage the migration of athletes from everywhere to places like North College Hill. The OHHSAA has done a lot better since then to police this, but they have a long way to go. Again, high school basketball has in many instances, become nothing more than an extension of the AAU season.

[Shazbot]

I think this is old news. My memory isn't the best in the world but I think this was brought out last year. I'm pretty sure he didn't play for USC last year as the article states.

[bobcatfan4728]

Mayo was in the NBA last year.

[datchillicav]

IMO, regardless of whether it was "fair" or not NCH is the state champ from that year. Ironton had a great year but they were runners-up(which is a spetactular achievement). Even if the OHSAA make NCH take down the banners they will still be state champs. Lots of people know that Africentric was the 05 D4 state champion but NO-ONE knows that Lutheran East is technically now the State Champion from 05.

[CarmenOhio]

IMO, regardless of whether it was "fair" or not NCH is the state champ from that year. Ironton had a great year but they were runners-up(which is a spetactular achievement). Even if the OHSAA make NCH take down the banners they will still be state champs. Lots of people know that Africentric was the 05 D4 state champion but NO-ONE knows that Lutheran East is technically now the State Champion from 05.

So it's ok to cheat as long as you get people to remember you were the best? These aren't sour grapes because as an Ironton fan, I don't care if they award us the title or not. I'm sure all the boys would say the same. They KNOW they had their chances to win regardless of how many ineligible recruits, I mean players NCH used:)

[boy of summer]

Again, how do three players of Walker, Ellis and Mayo's caliber happen to all end up at the same time at North College Hill? Or a bunch or foreign exchange students happen to end up at Dayton Christian? Just pure luck, coincidence or happenstance or did the magic of AAU basketball and/or recruiting have anything to do with it? In any event, is the publicity that they received winning the state title in light of what now is known (and probably should have been known then by them and the OHHSAA) really worth it to North College Hill?

In all seriousness, one of the craziest rules (the 50% rule) in my opinion that Ohio has is limiting the number of players from a high school that can play on an AAU/OYB team to two per high school in certain months. Ohio is one of the few states that has this restriction. I have no idea as to the reasoning behind this rule. It simply allows teams to recruit other players from other high schools. You can say it does not happen but it does all over the state, both on the boys and girls sides as kids transfer school districts leaving their high school teams to play with their AAU buds. Again, and very unfortunately, much of high school basketball is now nothing more than an extension of the AAU season.

[eagles73Taylor]

The only reason AAU exists is because high schools sports coincide at the same time as college! College coaches want a way to evaluate talent live, and AAU has sprung up because of this. High schools could solve this by moving their seasons around college. It would be a major move, but in the long run help the high school game.

[bengalfan76]

Again, how do three players of Walker, Ellis and Mayo's caliber happen to all end up at the same time at North College Hill? Or a bunch or foreign exchange students happen to end up at Dayton Christian? Just pure luck, coincidence or happenstance or did the magic of AAU basketball and/or recruiting have anything to do with it? In any event, is the publicity that they received winning the state title in light of what now is known (and probably should have been known then by them and the OHHSAA) really worth it to North College Hill?

In all seriousness, one of the craziest rules (the 50% rule) in my opinion that Ohio has is limiting the number of players from a high school that can play on an AAU/OYB team to two per high school in certain months. Ohio is one of the few states that has this restriction. I have no idea as to the reasoning behind this rule. It simply allows teams to recruit other players from other high schools. You can say it does not happen but it does all over the state, both on the boys and girls sides as kids transfer school districts leaving their high school teams to play with their AAU buds. Again, and very unfortunately, much of high school basketball is now nothing more than an extension of the AAU season.

Want to fix this make them ineligible by the 50% rule if they played together the Summer/Spring before.

[boy of summer]

Very good points eagle73 and bengalfan76. The 50% rule makes absolutely no sense at all to me. If kids transfer to the school of two of their AAU teammates, they should be ineligible. That would stop the nonsense.

[Gray Fighting Tiger]

A comment offered on another forum (no, it wasn't JJHuddle) by an apparent Ironton hater from Lockland (near Cincinnati):

"Originally Posted by Eezy as 123
Guess they still can't wash that sour taste out of their mouths, after all these years. This article is based on that one single year, what about the other years? Or do they not care about that? Sounds like all they want is a state title in any way possible.

Desperate."

One of the mods over there said that this guy never lets facts stand in the way of his opinions

[LoganElm_grad09]

What was the forum?

[bengalfan76]

Free Huddle

[Gray Fighting Tiger]

Not Freehuddle; it was Yappi

[1974Viking]

Seems like every where he has been, he has left a mess behind. He has not been made to be accountable for his actions.He just makes it harder on someone else. It is a shame as he is a great athlete, but is lacking in his sense of values. He played the system and got away with all kinds of violations during his High School and College career. Some were his fault and some were his being manipulated by others. I think that NCH should be stripped of the State Championship, the school and coaches broke the rules and knew it. The governing body that controls High School Sports is a joke. You can't tell me that they are not swayed by the bigger and richer schools. That is why the State Football Final are played up North. Oh well, The OJ Mayo monster should have been dealt sooner. He is not or ever will be anywhere close to Lebron, in talent or class.

[boy of summer]

Well said 1974 Viking! NCH definitely should be stripped of their title. If you have to cheat to win, you should not be rewarded. This requires absolutely no thought process. It is a given. I agree with you about OJ and Lebron in terms of class, but Akron St. Vincent St. Mary's also has huge advantages in "assembling" their teams, including Lebron's, that public schools simply do not have.

The OHHSAA has turned a blind eye to shenanigans such as OJ and NCH as well as other schools as well for years. That is sad as they are the governing body for sports in the state of Ohio. Very similiar to the NCAA and John Calipari-how many times can you get programs in trouble and leave without any sanctions and improve your net worth ten fold? In the case of OJ and the current Kentucky coach, as often as you want it appears. Guys like these two know that they can let someone else pay the piper for their misdeeds and they will carry on business as usual. You are right, neither Calipari, OJ Mayo, are accountable to anyone and therein lies the problem. It is far past time that the NCAA and OHHSAA did their job on a consistent basis. If you break the rules, you [u]pay, not rule abiding teams, players or programs you played against or innocent players or coaches from your program that were not even there when you violated the rules.

[BlizzardMan]

I remember an OTL special on ESPN about this. Mayo claimed to have been asked by players to come and not coaches, indicating that the players are the one's technically recruiting. I would not doubt this is the case because this allows the coach to not directly recruit. This is why the state needs a full year out if a student transfers.