What an opener: Beasley vs. Mayo

Posted March 19, 2008 11:00 pm

Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. -- Michael Beasley was standing in a narrow hallway outside the Kansas State locker room. Suddenly, O.J. Mayo appeared at the end of the corridor.

"Yo, Michael!" Mayo yelled.

"Juice!" Beasley screamed back.

They shook hands and embraced, these two freshman stars, both of them stopping by the NCAA Tournament on their inevitable journey to the NBA.

Don't expect things to be so cordial today when Mayo's Southern California Trojans face Beasley's Kansas State Wildcats in a game oozing with star power, the kind better suited for the Final Four rather than the opening round of the tournament.

They've been friends since their early teens -- unless they're on opposite teams. That's when things get serious. It doesn't matter if it's a pickup game in a deserted high school gym or a pressure-packed NCAA game in a sold-out arena.

"I have no friends on the court," Beasley said.

Mayo confirmed the intensity of their rivalry.

"Hopefully we're going to finish this game," he said, "because usually when we play 1-on-1 games there's a lot of arguing and fighting. We hardly ever get to finish the games."

If not for a change in draft rules, the two freshmen surely would have been NBA rookies this season. But they were required to spend at least a year in college, time spent honing their games and quickly establishing themselves as two of the country's best players -- even if it's for one season only, as everyone expects.

Mayo led the sixth-seeded Trojans (21-11) in scoring at 20.8 points a game, as well as assists, steals and 3-point shooting. Beasley had an even better season at 20-11 Kansas State, averaging 26.5 points and 12.4 rebounds to contend with North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough for player of the year honors.

Beasley vs. Mayo.

Now that's a matchup everyone can get excited about, even if you're on another team.

"Mayo and Beasley, you've got to give it to them," said Darnell Jackson of top-seeded Kansas, which has its own game to play today against Portland State. "The guys are great players."