LOS ANGELES - The USC men's basketball team could face a forfeiture of victories from the 2007-08 season or more serious sanctions if allegations are proved that guard O.J. Mayo violated NCAA rules by accepting tens of thousands of dollars in cash and benefits from Los Angeles events promoter Rodney Guillory.

The allegations were made by Louis Johnson, a former confidant of Mayo and Guillory, on ESPN's “Outside the Lines.” Guillory provided Mayo with a flat-screen television, cell-phone service, cash, meals, clothes and other benefits dating back to when Mayo entered high school, Johnson told ESPN. Johnson alleged that Guillory acted as an agent's representative and received more than $200,000 in cash and benefits, including a sports utility vehicle, from Bill Duffy Associates Sports Management.

When the agency stopped paying Guillory the summer before Mayo enrolled at USC, Johnson said, Guillory set up a fake charity and used donation money to fund his expenses. Johnson said Mayo received only a fraction of the money BDA provided Guillory, and Johnson supplied ESPN with expense receipts and money transfer orders to corroborate his account.

“The fact of the matter is, O.J. has been pimped by Rodney,” Johnson said in the report. Johnson, a former reporter for the Long Beach Press-Telegram, recently had a falling out with Guillory and said he spoke because he wanted to bring the matter to the public's attention and “force O.J. to make some changes in his life ... that he desperately needs right now.”

Guillory's alleged actions constitute the second set of potentially major violations recently to rock USC, which is still dealing with an NCAA investigation into whether former football running back Reggie Bush received improper benefits from a would-be sports marketer.

Asked whether her organization would look into the Mayo matter, NCAA spokeswoman Gail Dent said the organization's policies prohibit any comment on whether investigations are pending or ongoing.

A compliance director for another West Coast university said potential penalties facing USC would hinge on whether school officials were aware of wrongdoing. Penalties could include forfeiture of victories, probation, loss of television appearances, scholarship losses, or other recruiting restrictions. Mayo denied any wrongdoing in a statement to ESPN, saying, “I have been through investigations by the NCAA, the Pac-10 and USC before I attended school and during the time I have been here. ... If these claims were true I would suspect they would have been discovered by one of these organizations.”

Johnson said he and Guillory traveled to several of Mayo's high school games when he was a senior at Huntington (W.Va.) High School in order to build a relationship on behalf of BDA Sports Management in hopes that the phenom would eventually sign with the agency. Mayo, on the day last month he declared for the NBA draft, said he had hired BDA vice president Calvin Andrews as his agent.

BDA represents a number of NBA stars, including Denver Nuggets all-star Carmelo Anthony. Mayo was forced to pay $460 to charity in January after saying he accepted complimentary tickets from Anthony to attend a Los Angeles Lakers game at Staples Center.

BDA, which is prohibited by law from providing cash or other benefits to college athletes, denied any improper conduct in a statement to ESPN.

“There were absolutely no illegalities in our recruitment of O.J. Mayo nor were there any agreements or understandings towards his selection of BDA,” the statement said. “O.J. Mayo's decision to choose BDA as his representation firm had absolutely no bearing on anything other than O.J. recognizing our achievements and firmly believing that BFA will provide the guidance for him to reach his goals and attain great success.”

Guillory and Mayo's friendship dates to 2003, when they met during a tournament run by Guillory, who later informed USC Coach Tim Floyd that Mayo was interested in playing for the Trojans.

Floyd could not be reached for comment.

In a statement, USC asserted that “the NCAA and the Pac-10 reviewed O.J. Mayo's amateur status before and during his enrollment at USC, and did not identify any amateurism violations. ... Mayo and USC fully cooperated in these investigations.”

Mayo told ESPN in his statement that Guillory “has been a positive influence on me as well as a strong African-American male presence in my life. Recently, my mother had the opportunity to spend time with Rodney as well, and has shared her appreciation for the way he has always treated me like I was family when I was so far away from home. I have nothing but respect for Rodney.”

On “Outside the Lines,” Mayo's mother was shown saying she didn't trust Guillory.

Guillory had a previous association with former USC player Jeff Trepagnier, who was suspended a month by then-Coach Henry Bibby during the 2000-01 season in part because he had accepted complimentary airline tickets along with Fresno State's Tito Maddox. The NCAA later cleared Trepagnier of any wrongdoing.