Marquette Golden Eagles guard Todd Mayo’s sporadic, occasionally troubled career at Marquette University came to a close Wednesday. Credit: Rick Wood

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Guard Todd Mayo's sporadic, occasionally troubled career at Marquette came to a close Wednesday.

Mayo, who would have been a senior this season, left the team to pursue a professional basketball career.

The timing of Mayo's departure leaves an already depth-shy, poor-shooting team in a bind. The Golden Eagles currently have only 10 scholarship players, three fewer than the NCAA limit.

Although Mayo was academically ineligible the first semester of his sophomore season, he left the school in good academic standing, Marquette said in a statement.

"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," coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "I completely understand his desire to continue his career at the professional level and support his decision."

Mayo ran afoul of former coach Buzz Williams on three occasions, but there were no indications that he was not meshing with the new staff.

Mayo was sent home to West Virginia after his freshman season by Williams and told to think about whether he wanted to be a part of the program. At the time, Mayo was clashing with Williams and his teammates.

The following year, Mayo was declared academically ineligible for the first nine games. Williams had a long meeting with Mayo's family before a decision was made that he could return to the team.

And last season, Mayo was suspended for Marquette's loss at Wisconsin because he was late for a practice.

Mayo's maturity level and his commitment to the team seemed to improve a little bit each season, causing Williams to say he had "grown up" by the start of his inconsistent junior year. Except for his benching against the Badgers, Mayo had a trouble-free year and his scoring off the bench was instrumental in two of Marquette's 17 victories last season. He also scored 10 points in the last 34 seconds of a near-upset against No. 4 Villanova.

Williams, saying Mayo had not earned the right to start because of his practice habits, made the decision to start Jake Thomas at shooting guard last season and stuck with it. Mayo came off the bench in all 30 games in which he appeared last season, averaging 11.3 points and 2.7 rebounds. He would have been the team's top returning scorer.

Mayo started just two games, both as a freshman, in three seasons with the Golden Eagles. He averaged 8.4 points for his career.

Where his departure leaves Marquette is a question Wojciechowski is not prepared to answer at the moment. The Golden Eagles have a guard-heavy roster, but it is inexperienced.

When three signed freshmen declined to honor their commitments after Williams left for Virginia Tech, Wojciechowski was left with 11 players. Mayo, one of just two seniors on the roster, probably would have started at shooting guard this year.

Sophomore Jajuan Johnson, who fell out of the rotation in the second half of last season, and sophomore John Dawson are the two primary shooters on the roster. Redshirt freshman Duane Wilson, who missed last season with a stress fracture to his leg, is primarily a point guard but could play both.

Brigham Young transfer Matt Carlino also is a point guard but will be asked to play both positions. Freshman Sandy Cohen is a 6-foot-6 swingman. Sophomore Deonte Burton is more of an inside force at 6-4. The other guard on the roster, senior Derrick Wilson, can only play the point.

The Golden Eagles will be small and inexperienced. Center Luke Fischer, who transferred from Indiana last year, won't be eligible until mid-December.

Marquette struggled greatly with its outside shot last season, an area Wojciechowski addressed during a fundamentals-oriented summer camp. He asked his guards to take up to 500 shots each day.