About the hype
I've written several times that USC was as responsible as anyone in creating too much hype regarding the arrival of O.J. Mayo. Let me give an example: Coach Tim Floyd said before Mayo arrived that he was possibly the best prospect since Lebron James.
As usual, my usual disclaimer that this has nothing to do with Mayo's performance this season, but it helped create a false sense of expectation around the program.
Maybe you're do better to think about expectations if OJ Mayo had not come to USC. My fear after losing Lodrick Stewart, Nick Young, and Gabe Pruitt in the same season after making a Sweet 16 tournament run was that the program would return to former USC standards of a losing record, getting swept by ucla without competing well against them, finishing in the bottom third of the PAC 10, and playing home games in front of 2,000 fans (most of whom come dressed as seats). With OJ Mayo, USC won 20+ games, finished in 4th place in a tough PAC 10, beat ucla once at Pauley and missed a last second shot at tying them in the PAC 10 tournament, and made the NCAA tournament for the second straight season. Your constant criticism of Mayo is like saying Allen Iverson was a disappointment with the Sixers all those years because they never won the NBA title, or Dan Marino was a disappointment with the Dolphins because they never won the Super Bowl, or Scott Wolf was a disappointment because he never won the Pulitzer Prize.