Originally Published: November 1, 2007

Mayo has the hype; these guys will have the longevity

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Gottlieb By Doug Gottlieb
Special to ESPN.com
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When O.J. Mayo landed at USC, many pundits declared that Mayo, a consensus All-American in high school, would forever change the perception of USC's basketball program. Mayo -- like Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and many, many others before -- is seen as a "program changer", a player whose skill is so profound and rep so immense that writers want to cover his team and other elite talents want to play with his team.

The truth, though, is that while Oden and the "Thad Five" lived up to the hype by playing for a national title, Ohio State was in a difficult position following Oden's departure, because he and Mike Conley both left long before an era could truly be established. USC will have Mayo for one interesting and possibly amazing season, but at the end of the day, one- or even two-and-done players are not the true program changers they are made out to be.

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