Junior college All-American Bobby Maze said he's looking for "a warm home and a coach that believes in me.''
Today, it's Knoxville's turn to audition for the gifted point guard from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College.
Maze will be on the University of Tennessee campus making a visit as he closes in on signing with a team to play for this upcoming season.
"The things I look for are a coach who will give me the opportunity to play my game and a team with good players around me,'' said Maze, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound junior-to-be who averaged 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game last season. "I like coming off ball screens, and I like to drive and dish.
"When I get the ball in my hands, I make good decisions. I can see the floor and run, and I know Tennessee has some talented guys that can run the floor.''
The Vols are sorely in need of an experienced point guard after Friday's announcement that incumbent Ramar Smith won't return to the team.
Among others, UT brings back an All-SEC player in Tyler Smith, a player Maze played against when Smith was at Hargrave Military Academy.
Maze is from Washington D.C., but he finished his prep career at the Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C., before heading to play at Oklahoma two seasons ago.
Maze said the Sooners weren't a good fit, and a preseason injury left him less than 100 percent.
"Every team I have ever played for likes to run,'' said Maze, who as a high school receiver and free safety ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash. "Oklahoma slowed me down, and it didn't really fit my style.''
Maze broke his foot the day before the season started running a three-man weave drill in practice.
"I had told them my foot was hurting me,'' Maze said. "I came back 12 games into the season, and I was nowhere near 100 percent.''
Maze started five games for the Sooners and played in 22, averaging 5.6 points and 2.5 assists while shooting 70 percent from the free-throw line and 45 percent from the floor.
He scored 17 points in his first Big 12 game against Texas Tech, and hit double digits against Baylor and Iowa State. Maze also had five-assist performances against Missouri and Kansas State.
At the end of the season, Maze and Oklahoma made a mutual decision it would be best for him to leave Norman.
At Hutchinson last season, Maze became only the third player in the program's storied history to have more than 200 assists in one season.
Maze also is the fourth of Hutchinson's 23 All-Americans to earn first-team honors, having set a single-game record with 16 assists against Barton (Kans.) Community College.
Maze, who visited Cincinnati last weekend and is schedule to visit Kentucky this weekend, said whatever school he decides on will have to wait to see him play in person.
"I don't put my stuff on YouTube,'' Maze said. "They'll see me when they see me.''
Today, Maze will see the University of Tennessee.
Source: http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2008/may/05/maze-to-visit-
ut-today/
