Ex-USC basketball player O.J. Mayo has severed ties with the sports agency that allegedly funneled him thousands of dollars in violation of NCAA rules.

In a statement released Thursday, Mayo’s mother, Alisha, said the expected lottery pick is looking for a new agent after firing Calvin Andrews of Bill Duffy Associates.

“As a family, we decided to modify O.J.'s inner circle and allow him to solely focus on improving his game without distraction in a structured, disciplined environment,” the statement read.

Andrews acknowledged the break in ties.

“Due to the overwhelming intensity of recent allegations regarding the recruitment of O.J. Mayo, we feel that our representation of him is a distraction for he and his family at this time,” Andrews said in a statement.

Less than two weeks ago, ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” reported allegations made by one of Mayo’s former confidants, Louis Johnson, that Mayo took roughly $30,000 in cash and gifts over the past four years.

Under the rules of the NBA players union, Mayo can’t hire a new agent for 15 days. But Andrews said he will ask the NBA to waive that requirement.

“This should be the best time in his life and anything that takes away from that enjoyment and the experience of this process is not fair to him,” Andrews’ statement said. “We will maintain the greatest support and best wishes for him through this time and throughout what promises to be an excellent career for a very deserving young man.”

CNBC.com first reported that Mayo and the agency had broken ties.

Johnson told ESPN that Mayo took the gifts from Los Angeles events promoter Rodney Guillory, whom Johnson said was paid roughly $200,000 by BDA. The agency could face sanctions, including decertification, if the union finds it paid Mayo.

Earlier Thursday, the general counsel for the NBA Players Association, Gary Hall, recused himself from the union’s investigation. Hall once represented the agency as an attorney.

Special feature The class of 2008 See images of the top NBA prospects in the 2008 draft, like O.J. Mayo and Michael Beasley. NBCSports.com

Mayo, widely considered a top 5 pick in next month’s draft, announced he would hire Andrews to represent him when he declared his intentions to enter the NBA draft on April 9. In one season at USC, Mayo led the Trojans in scoring (20.7 points per game), assists (109) and free-throw percentage (80.3).

Several NBA executives have said they don’t expect on-going investigations by the NCAA, the Pac-10 and the NBA Players Association to affect Mayo’s draft stock.

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Mayo has denied he took money from Guillory. USC officials have remained silent other than to say they will cooperate with investigators.

NBA commissioner David Stern didn’t sound too concerned about the probes in comments to ESPN at Tuesday’s draft lottery.

“Those are NCAA regulations and if there’s anybody watching that thinks this is a new subject, I have a bridge over in Brooklyn that I'd like to sell them because this has been going on for the last 30 or 40 years,” Stern said.

Johnson is working on a book to be published some time during next basketball season. His literary agent, Michael Psaltis, told the Register earlier this week he expected to get Johnson a six-figure advance.

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