Derrick Rose was a silent operator. Like an assassin who never bragged about his body count, Rose went about his business on the court without much fanfare. He let his game do the talking, and boy, did it speak volumes.
But even a player as quiet and reserved as Rose couldn't help but be in awe of another former high school star who would also join him in the NBA, O.J. Mayo . In a discussion on the "Club 520" podcast, Rose revealed how playing against the 6'5" guard from Huntington, West Virginia, during their high school days changed his entire perspective on basketball.
Mayo was the standard
While Rose and Mayo belonged to the same stacked recruitment class of 2007, O.J. was, at the time, the better prospect. A standout at North College Hill High School in North College Hill, Ohio, Mayo earned "Mr. Basketball of Ohio" honors and was also named Associated Press Division III Player of the Year. He averaged 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists per game.
Rose saw all these up close and afar and was highly motivated to match or surpass O.J.
"When I seen him for the first time, bro, that changed my whole perspective for the game and, like, made me feel like I wasn't working hard enough, and my whole chase for the sh*t was like chasing him. So yeah, O.J., you put that battery in my back, for sure," the 2011 league MVP shared .
Related: "I'm not saying that I can take Kobe Bryant or Tracy McGrady" — Michael Jordan was real about his ability when he played with the Wizards
Chased O.J. around the country
Aside from his nuclear athleticism that allowed him to defy gravity and make jaw-dropping plays, "Pooh" was known for his fearlessness. The 6'3" guard never backed down from anyone or any challenge in the NBA, and he was the same way in high school; he wanted all the smoke and showed that by tracking down O.J.'s team and competing in whatever tournament he was in.
"We chased him, bro. We used to go to tournaments looking for him, like really chased O.J.," Rose revealed. "We wanted that matchup, especially since we played them like in seventh and eighth, seventh or eighth, and he was on a whole other level, and I never forgot that. Like, that's my baseline right there. Like, I went back to Chi, I stayed in the gym."
The three-time All-Star disclosed that there was one tournament in Vegas where he and Eric Gordon teamed up against Mayo's team. There, he held his own and proved that he was just as good, if not better, than the highly-touted Mayo.
"I had nobody else that was really like a D1 player at that time on my team like that. So he had three or four guys, but to, like, play against him in Vegas on that stage and to know that everybody, like, the alarms and sh*t was going on like, that sh*t was nuts, bro," Derrick stressed.
While Rose's career took off like a rocket in the NBA, Mayo's got grounded. Despite being a highly recruited prospect and having a successful one-year stint at USC, Mayo never quite lived up to his expectations. He bounced around different teams in the NBA before ultimately leaving for overseas opportunities after being dismissed from the league for a drug violation in 2016.
Related: "There definitely was an altercation" - O.J. Mayo on the notorious airplane fight with his "good friend" Tony Allen
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