It was a match-up observers from everywhere were waiting to see. Last night at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic, O.J. Mayo and the USC Trojans went head-to-head with Derrick Rose and the Memphis Tigers. As many hoops fans know, both players are truly talented prospects, and one of them could be the number one overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

However, neither O.J. Mayo nor Rose dominated like many were hoping for, and neither looked like natural NBA point guards in their first battle. In 41 minutes of play O.J. Mayo scored 16 points on 6-of-20 shooting, had 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 fouls and 3 turnovers. In 39 minutes of play Derrick Rose scored 9 points (3 of 9 from the field), had 10 rebounds, 4 assist, 3 fouls and 5 turnovers. Number two ranked Memphis ended up winning in overtime 62 to 58.

Both O.J. Mayo and Rose are young and still developing into complete players, but it’s obvious which of the two is more advanced when it comes to playing the point. Derrick Rose shows maturity when running an offense and has the true pass-first mentality. O.J. Mayo, meanwhile is a shoot-first player, and often tries to carry the scoring load by himself. USC head coach Tim Floyd needs to do a better job teaching O.J. to involve his teammates more, instead of relying on O.J. to be the savior. Derrick Rose said "The hype - sometimes you want to be that person but that comes with the territory. You want all the hype. You just go out and play hard and you’ll get it, but you’ve got to make sure you don’t get too bigheaded when you get it." O.J. Mayo said "I’m just trying to get better as a player. I’m not perfect, but I strive to be perfect. Nobody plays perfect, but just try to get better."