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Lee Jenkins on O.J. Mayo's "recruiting"

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Cousin Jeffrey, Mar 21, 2007.

  1. shockey

    shockey Active Member

    this story will get uglier by the day. :eek:
     
  2. Armchair_QB

    Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

    I didn't get a "all is good in LaLa Land" feel when I read that. I got the feeling Floyd made a deal with the devil. Mayo will be a problem but he'll only be a problem for one year.
     
  3. fishwrapper

    fishwrapper Active Member

    Easy. A little hyperbole? I hope?

    If you want to put it on par with the unconditional surrender of the Germans on May 4, 1945, fine. But, that's as far as I'm willing to take it.
     
  4. Mmac

    Mmac Guest

    Can you imagine someone like Bob Knight's reaction to a recruit (and his "promoter") dictating terms like that? Sounds like Floyd's already surrendered any pretense to having any discplinary control over Mayo, the kid's gonna do whatever and play however he wants at SC.
     
  5. Definitely hyperbole. I ONLY speak in hyperbole.

    But I think it will be a huge story in terms of repercussions. Imagine you're the top player of the class of 2011. You see Mayo doing this and think, "Hmm. This kid put himself in position to be a global icon if he pans out. I need to do the same."

    Soon, kids start recruiting locations, not schools. Future earnings, not coaches.

    The power structure is turned upside down, not that it hasn't always been, but I think it's out in public for the first time.
     
  6. Cousin Jeffrey

    Cousin Jeffrey Active Member

  7. Mmac

    Mmac Guest

    You mean more 1-year wonders choosing non-traditional hoops schools just cuz they're in the New York/LA media markets? Hey, I knew Fordham's fortunes would turn one day.
     
  8. SoCalDude

    SoCalDude Active Member

    If Floyd refused to talk to Jenkins, it sends up a flare that there is something to hide.

    If I covered a team that suddenly decided not to allow the media in the locker room or other media access, I'd tell the coach that by doing that, you're telling me you have something to hide and I'm gonna find out what it is.
     
  9. daemon

    daemon Well-Known Member

    Sounds a little different than a "stranger" who happened to wonder into the USC basketball offices.

    Not to mention the fact that his name is Ronald in the NYT story and Rodney in the LAT story.

    Maybe I'm just jaded, but the LAT story sounds like it might be a little more representative of reality.
     
  10. Mmac

    Mmac Guest

    Just googled the name "Rodney Guillory" and the very first entry had a paragraph describing how a Fresno State player had once lost elgibility for receiving cash from "longtime friend" Rodney Guillory, who was found to be a runner for a sports agency, he also got a former USC hoopster, Jeff Trepagnier, suspended for similar stuff, a references to him being a "regular" at the USC players lounge (how the hell can USC allow a guy who previously got one of its players suspended to hang out at the players lounge?). I didn't read on, but there appears to be even more out there about this guy's shady dealings. Jenkins' fluff piece does not even come close to touching the real story here.
     
  11. jgmacg

    jgmacg Guest

    Nor is a Rodney a Ronald.

    We've now posted three stories on the same subject on this thread. Two refer to the man in question as "Rodney" Guillory, and one - the NYT story with the knuckleheaded geography botch - refers to him as "Ronald." Which is it?

    Is this an AKA that the man in question uses to confuse reporters and authorities? An evil twin? Or is this a case in which the NYT reporter got a name wrong? Or did the other two reporters?

    I await word from somone's corrections desk.

    I then return to my original point.

    Do glaring errors of fact undermine the substantive credibility of a story? I think they do. If I can't count on a reporter to deliver the boilerplate - names, places, numbers - why should I credit the content of the piece?
     
  12. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    We're not disagreeing here. I just think the most substantial undermining comes not from the (seemingly) incorrect name or the incorrect mileage -- mistakes can't be excused, but they happen -- but from not asking more questions about Guillory's history or revealing more information about his relationship with Mayo.

    The factual errors chip away at the credibility. But those lapses in legwork deliver a sledgehammer blow.
     
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