Heading into the 2007-2008 college basketball season and its heralded freshman class, I was most bullish on Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose, with O.J. Mayo and Jerryd Bayless coming in shortly behind those two.  After their freshman season, there is a definitive gap between the first two and Mayo and Bayless, but it is not nearly as wide as has been broadly portrayed.

In an NBA in which very few players can create their own offense, Mayo will be elite.

He creates separation off the dribble to generate space to get his jumper off, but what is more impressive and refined is his knack for preserving the dribble, squaring up in a triple-threat position with purpose and intent.  He is able to back defenders up with jab steps, which sets things up for when he does put the ball on the floor, where he is highly imaginative, utilizing a wide array of moves to score.

Mayo has an extra level of quickness when trying to beat his man once he has him on his hip.

Mayo seems to be more comfortable shooting off the dribble than he does on the catch-and-shoot, which could be due to his outrageously large hands and how those hands are able to catch the ball and reposition to shoot.  He also enjoys posting up from about 12 feet out, a characteristic that made Michael Jordan so dangerous and is a key component of Kobe Bryant's game.

He showed marked improvement in his ability to move without the ball since his initial collegiate games.  He uses screens intelligently and prepares his hands to catch the ball well in advance of actually receiving the pass.

The form on his jump shot is highly developed, using great rotation and a high arc that has a great deal of touch.  Mayo is a very, very good shooter but streaky at times, and I?m not quite ready to label him a pure shooter although he shows the promise to develop into one, particularly with how much attention he is paid by opposing defenders.  

The best way to defend him is with hard on-ball pressure followed by close help defense against penetration.  Because of the strength of his jumper, he prefers to shoot from 12-15 feet out instead of driving to the bucket.  This often times leads him to getting caught in the air, causing bad shots and errant passes.  Forcing him to use the dribble but playing him tight to not let him get his jumper off also seems to cause him to over-dribble.

He can get to the rim, but more often than not, he lays the ball up or shoots runners rather than attacking the rim with dunks.

He has great natural instincts as a passer especially in finding the open man when drawing a double-team, but he is not a preternatural passer.  Mayo is, however, a very unselfish player and with his excellent court vision is looking for his teammates.

He has shown the ability to play the point, but he rarely brought the ball up the floor for USC because  those duties fell primarily to Daniel Hackett.  He has good change of pace and direction with his open floor dribble and also is extremely quick with it.  

As it is, Mayo is more valuable to his team and more suited to the shooting guard position.  

Mayo is a highly intelligent 20-year-old (scored in 95 percentile on ACT) and has a phenomenal basketball IQ, but his off-ball defensive awareness needs work and is his most glaring weakness.  This area of his game can be classified as fundamentally poor as his vision is almost exclusively on his man, regardless of where the ball is.  Mayo gets himself spun around and is very susceptible to the back door, as well as not being in position to give his teammates help when their men beat him.

Boxing out isn?t always a priority, and although he can get into the air and rebound when needed, he hasn?t shown it to be a priority.

It will be impossible for this aspect of Mayo?s game not to improve and should catch up to his greatness as an on-ball defender, something he seems to thoroughly enjoy.  His defense of Rose in the Memphis game was particularly impressive.  He has lightning-quick reaction time into the passing lanes and can block shots in transition due to an impressive swift elevation.

Though shorter and slightly less athletic than both Jordan and Bryant, Mayo is headed for this type of individual career.

Despite a history of character issues that now includes the BDA controversy, from every moment I've seen, his character as a ballplayer appears impeccable.  He plays the game in a very stoic, yet passionate, manner.

His status as a top-three pick in the 2008 NBA draft is extremely warranted and would be a Dwyane Wade like steal if he were to fall to five.

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Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM.  He can be reached at Chris.Reina@RealGM.com where he may use your draft questions in a future mailbag edition