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Todd Mayo's departure leaves Marquette in search of perimeter scoring

Todd Mayo's departure leaves Marquette in search of perimeter scoring

For all the problems Todd Mayo caused during his turbulent career at Marquette, maybe it's only fitting he's causing another one by leaving with one year of eligibility remaining

His departure leaves an inexperienced, cold-shooting Marquette team without a senior who probably would have been the team's best perimeter scorer.

Mayo, the younger brother of Milwaukee Bucks guard O.J. Mayo, will pursue a professional career after averaging 11.3 points per game off the bench as a junior. At this point, Mayo has little chance of earning an NBA contract, so he could either sign a contract with an overseas team or play in the D-League next season in hopes of making a good enough impression on scouts to be selected in next June's draft.

"We wish Todd nothing but the best and appreciate his contributions to the program, not only since I arrived at Marquette, but during his entire career," new Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski said in a statement released by the school. "I completely understand his desire to continue his career at the professional level and support his decision."

Mayo's decision to turn pro ends a chaotic college career that produced plenty of good and bad moments.

On one hand, Mayo clashed repeatedly with former Marquette coach Buzz Williams, earned several suspensions for both academic and disciplinary reasons and came off the bench behind Jake Thomas as a junior because Williams felt his practice habits didn't merit a starting job. On the other hand, Mayo did seem to mature every year and his scoring off the bench helped ensure that an uncharacteristically mediocre Marquette team still managed to win 17 games.

Without Mayo, Marquette will have to hope that some of its less proven perimeter players can provide scoring punch.

BYU transfer Matt Carlino will certainly help with that since the 6-foot-2 rising senior averaged 13.7 points and 4.3 assists for the Cougars last season and seldom passed up the chance to take an open shot. He and redshirt freshman Duane Wilson will surely see minutes at both point guard and shooting guard, with Derrick Wilson also seeing minutes at point guard.

Sophomores Jajuan Johnson and John Dawson are the two primary shooters on the roster. Six-foot-4 Deonte Burton attempted only eight 3-point shots last season and is more of a slasher.

There's certainly some talent among that perimeter corps but there isn't a whole lot of experience or outside shooting prowess. Mayo would have helped with that had he stayed. Instead he's turning pro and leaving Marquette short-handed.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!