365 days, that is all it took for the basketball team at North College Hill High School, outside of Cincinnati, to go from world beaters to just another after school basketball team. Last year the team was gearing up to face the likes of Oak Hill Academy, the famous basketball factory in Virginia, now this year its back to normal of two of the county's best players have left the program. They were ranked in the preseason USA Today High School rankings last year, but this year North College Hill was nowhere to be found.
Earlier this year the standout forward Billy Walker was ruled ineligible after the state high school governing body had ruled that he had already played four years of high school basketball, Walker has since graduated earlier and will be a key part of Bob Huggins first year at Kansas State.
The other half of the star duo, O.J. Mayo has also moved on, but not to college but rather to Huntington High School in his home state of West Virginia. Now this year Huntington High School will be sight of the Mayo Circus. Good for them, during the year they will appear on national TV a couple of times and make tons of money, then next year when Mayo takes his traveling road show to the University of Southern California it will be back to normal at the school. The record of the school reads like a great list accomplishments for the duo, most points in a game, most fans, and most important most money made.
This brings up a bigger question, should schools like these two public schools; take on these type of talents for a couple of years, just to make their schools a couple of extra bucks. By bringing these types of players into your program you also bring sneaker companies and agents into the fray.
