Mayo is shaking in anticipation of draft

O.J. Mayo will spend the months leading to the NBA draft working on ballhandling and other basketball skills.

He has already visualized a draft-day handshake with NBA Commissioner David Stern, which would follow his selection as a lottery pick.

“I practiced it a lot,” he said Thursday during a news conference at USC’s Galen Center.

Mayo, 20, announced last week that he was leaving the Trojans and turning pro after one season – no surprise since his college career was necessitated by the NBA’s year-old rule that prevents players from joining the league right out of high school.

Mayo, a 6-foot-5 guard who averaged 20.7 points a game, said that he had signed with agent Calvin Andrews, who also represents Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets.

USC Coach Tim Floyd was not at the news conference, but he said last week, “We are appreciative of everything O.J. did for all of us the year he was with us. We wish him well. I have no doubt that he will be a great professional.”

Mayo met with Floyd after the Trojans were eliminated by Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA tournament and huddled with family members in West Virginia last week.

He said he decided to turn pro “to secure my family. That’s the most important thing for me right now.”

Mayo said that he had no regrets about his decision to attend USC and that he would complete the spring semester, a move that will prevent the Trojans from losing a scholarship next season.

The rule requiring players to spend at least a year in college before joining the NBA is a good one, Mayo said.

“I definitely got the most out of it,” he said.

USC is still waiting to hear if Taj Gibson and Davon Jefferson will turn pro.

Mayo said his only advice to his former teammates was to make the best decisions for their families.

gary.klein@latimes.com