HUNTINGTON -- South Point High School shooting guard Todd Mayo is not used to being caught off guard when it comes to basketball.
His fast moves on the court led him to 24 points per game as a sophomore for the Pointers, who had an undefeated regular season and Ohio Valley Conference title in the 2007-08 season.
Yet, his quickness on the court has forced college coaches to move even faster off the court.
The younger brother of NBA Draft prospect O.J. Mayo received a scholarship offer from Marshall University head coach Donnie Jones.
"It was pretty exciting," Mayo said. "It caught me off guard because I didn't think they were looking at me like that."
It turns out several schools were already looking at him like that. After word came that Marshall had offered, Mayo said that he was flooded with letters and even an offer from Akron.
However, Marshall's early offer excited Mayo because he has always been around the program and sees the future of Thundering Herd basketball as bright with Jones running the program.
Mayo said Jones is the type of coach players like to play for.
"I'm looking for a strong relationship with the coach," Mayo said. "That's really important."
Mayo said one of the moments etched in his memory of Jones and the Herd came last season when nationally-ranked Memphis came to town.
That game showed the difference in mindset from the previous years when Jones was not around.
"For Memphis to come in that hyped, Marshall didn't back down," Mayo said. "You could tell they had heart. I really liked that about them."
Another plus for the Herd is the close proximity to Mayo's family. While O.J. went to play for USC in Los Angeles, he said there is no problem staying closer to home.
"I would always want to play at home," Mayo said. "That's something I've always wanted to do, so they are definitely up there."
Even with several early offers, Mayo said a commitment is not in the immediate timetable, especially since he has two more years of high school basketball.
But no matter what his future plans are, he said Marshall will be on any short-list that he may come up with.
"(Marshall) will definitely be high up there, especially since they were the first to offer," Mayo said. "For now, I just plan on getting better, working harder and getting more colleges to show interest. I am going to keep my options open."
In addition to offers from Marshall and Akron, Mayo has garnered early interest from USC, Cincinnati and Stanford.
NCAA rules prohibit Marshall coach Donnie Jones from commenting on a prospect.
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