Lil' Romeo's 'Got the Hook Up' (Holler If You Hear Me)*

Lil' Romeo, legally known as Percy Miller, Jr. (yeah, I'd go by Romeo, too), son of rap superstar and mogul Percy Miller, Sr., better known as Master P, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at the University of Southern California (USC) next year. Romeo signs along with his buddy, Demar DeRozan from Compton High School. Meanwhile, Romeo attends . . . Beverly Hills High. Yeah, he's thuggin' it for sure in BH. Yes, that is an iced out Cookie Monster around his neck.

This little factoid about his posh upbringings did not go unnoticed by one ESPN.com reader:

A point guard from Beverly Hills? Did "The Fresh Prince" and Carlton sign letters of intent to play somewhere else? Uncle Phil will be relieved to get them out of the house.

Romeo is short by basketball standards (listed at 6 ft sometimes, but closer to 5'10) but he is certainly not "Carlton," can-you-lift-me-up-to-the-counter short.

And yeah, I don't know about him playing at Beverly Hills High. He probably has Steven Spielberg's kids on his team, who I'm sure direct one heck of a Christmas play, and the kid from Everybody Loves Chris, but I don't know if they are beasts on the basketball court. (Note: I totally made that up. I don't know where those kids go to high school) It was pointed out to me that the site ranking Lil' Romeo as the # 15 basketball player in the nation is a site owned by his dad. Boo. I see he put DeRozan at #1 and stuck his son a lot lower, but still in the top 20, so it wouldn't seem biased. Yeah, that didn't really work.

Why does Lil' Romeo need a scholarship? I know they don't have anything to do with financial need when it comes to sports, but this is not your ordinary kid. Surely, someone saw him on Cribs with all of his "whips" before he even had a learner's permit.

I asked someone this same question and his response was:

The USC No Limit Library that goes under construction next spring.

. . . with volumes by authors Master P, Silkk the Shocker, and C Murder. Titles include: "How You Do Dat: The Every Man's Guide to Do-It-Yourself Repairs,""Make 'Em Say Ugh: 365 Ways to Gross Out Your Co-Workers" and last but not least, the love tome, "My Wife, She Is Bout It, Bout It"

So it turns out that he's an honor student to boot. The NCAA will be happy about that since that's more important to them than athletic ability. . . (I still have that swamp land for sale if you thought that was a serious statement) Lil' Romeo had this to stay after the signing:

"This is the most important thing I've had to do and hopefully it sends a message to kids across the country that education is more important than money," Miller said at the news conference. "Getting a college scholarship is more important than winning an American Music Award, and I plan to be the best student-athlete I can be at USC."

Kudos to Lil' Romeo for recognizing his role model status. And way to keep it "real" by tying in the American Music Awards that took place the night before.

Apparently, he can actually play a little bit, as evidenced by his invite to Reebok's ABCD camp. They have enough stars going through there that I don't think they invited him unless he really had some game. His dad Percy, Sr. Master P had a few tryouts with some NBA teams back in the late '90's but never actually played a game, so maybe the apple didn't fall too far from the tree.

Here's some video of him "ballin' ":



Well, he better be able to play or else USC will become a joke. Not normally known as a basketball powerhouse, they are off to a good recruiting start with O.J. Mayo, who probably won't even be there next year to play with Lil' Romeo.

In other news, sources say that upon graduation, Mayo has chosen an endorsement deal with No Limit Clothing, will be represented by No Limit Sports Management, and will appear in a No Limit Films movie entitled "Hold the Mayo." I knew there was a catch.




* Title and chorus of one of his dad Master P's greatest hits.