OJ2, Guillory, Timmeh and Pom Pom in a TrOJan "Fairy Tail"

Scott Wolf serves up the excuse from South Central today :

USC released a statement that denied knowledge of any wrongdoing.

"The NCAA and the Pac-10 reviewed O.J. Mayo's amateur status before and during his enrollment at USC, and did not identify any amateurism violations.

"Mayo and USC fully cooperated in these investigations. The University investigated and reported a violation involving Mayo's receipt of tickets to a Denver Nuggets game from his friend Carmelo Anthony. Mayo's eligibility was reinstated after he made a charitable contribution in the amount of the value of the tickets."

Sources said USC was wary of Guillory's involvement but realized any attempts to completely ban him might jeopardize Mayo's commitment.

The NCAA did perform an investigation into Mayo's amateur status, but this was without knowledge of Johnson's allegations. Mayo gave ESPN a statement denying the charges.

"I am focusing on the process of making my dream come true, which is to play professional basketball," it said. "I will not allow these allegations to become a distraction to me and my family. I have been through investigations by the NCAA, the Pac-10 and USC before I attended school and during the time I have been here.

"I have not engaged in any wrongdoing. If these claims were true I would suspect they would have been discovered by one of these organizations."

Simple question: if SuC was wary of Guillory (especially with the his history with former Trojan basketball player) why was Guillory still showing up at Galen?

In Wolfie's article Timmeh told DN he "never spoke to Guillory" :

"Tim Floyd was heartbroken," Guillory told the Daily News. Informed of his comments, Floyd told the Daily News he never spoke to Guillory.

USC's compliance office was wary of Guillory because eight years ago the NCAA ruled he was a runner for an agent and provided airfare to former Trojans basketball player Jeff Trepagnier, who was suspended for part of the season.

Timmeh never spoke to Guillory? Sounds like another fairy tail :

It sounds like a fairy tale.

A stranger walked into the University of Southern California basketball office one day last summer and asked to speak to the head coach. The stranger did not make an appointment. He did not call ahead. Tim Floyd, the U.S.C. head coach, cannot explain why he agreed to see him.

Nine months later, as U.S.C. prepares for the regional semifinal of the N.C.A.A. tournament, Floyd recounted his version of that conversation.

The mysterious man got right to the point. "How would you like to have the best player in the country?" he asked.

Floyd tried not to roll his eyes.

"Have you heard of O. J. Mayo?" the man asked.

Of course Floyd had heard of him. Everyone in basketball had heard of him. Mayo was first mentioned in Sports Illustrated when he was in the seventh grade. He was considered a future lottery pick by the time he entered high school. He once talked trash to Michael Jordan during a pickup game at Jordan’s camp.

Mayo was entering his senior season as a point guard at Huntington High School in Huntington, W.Va., but Floyd said he did not bother to call him. He did not even send him a U.S.C. brochure.

What was the point? Major universities had been courting Mayo for four years. Floyd had been at U.S.C. for fewer than 18 months. Besides, Floyd had only recruited two top-100 players in his life. He had no business going after Mayo, the No. 1 player in the country, especially being from a football college that was 3,000 miles away.

"O. J. wanted me to come here today," the man told Floyd. "He wanted me to figure out who you are."

Floyd was desperate enough to play along. His starting point guard, Ryan Francis, had been murdered two months earlier. The backup, Gabe Pruitt, was in academic trouble. The third-stringer, a walk-on, was leaving college.

So was Timmeh lying to the Daily News about not speaking to Guillory?

Why was Timmeh communicating with a shady character like Guillory give his prior history with USC?

Timmeh was so desperate that he enlisted the Humanitarian to give the Trojan pitch to Mayo:

Floyd solicited the help of a coach more familiar with five-star recruits. Pete Carroll, the U.S.C. football coach, gave Mayo his pitch. As usual, it worked.

It sounds like just another TrOJan fairy tail!