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UT's Bobby Maze passes the ball during play in the Rocky Top basketball league at Bearden High School on Monday night.
Be-Amazed, B-Maze, aka, the Solution.
Few basketball players have arrived at Tennessee generating the fanfare and curiosity that incoming junior college All-American point guard Bobby Maze has supplied the past month.
It has not been a matter of hype so much as it is Maze just being himself in a basketball community hungry for more success under UT coach Bruce Pearl and brimming with anticipation.
Maze will put his basketball skills on display at 7:30 tonight when his Ray's ESG team takes on an undefeated HT Group team at Bearden High School in the championship game of the Pilot Rocky Top League. The News Sentinel plays Toyota of Knoxville at 6 in the third-place game.
Maze's team features incoming UT freshman Scotty Hopson, UT sophomore center Brian Williams and Coastal Carolina's Logan Johnson, while Tyler Smith, East Tennessee State star Courtney Pigram and incoming UT freshman Daniel West lead HT Group.
Some look at the PRTL contests as glorified pickup and/or a good way for players to stay in shape, but Maze approaches it like he does every game - as though it's his last.
"Too many people take this game of basketball for granted,'' Maze said, "but I wouldn't have been the places I've been and be here if it wasn't for basketball.
"I'm very happy here. It's one of the best things that has happened for me in my life. People have no idea of the road I took to get here.''
Maze has made the trek from his hometown of Washington D.C., to The Patterson School in North Carolina, to the University of Oklahoma, to Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College and now to UT.
There have been life-changing events and drama along the way.
Maze needed help from NBA player and friend DerMarr Johnson to land a spot at Patterson Prep before choosing to attend Oklahoma.
A year later, after suffering a broken foot with the Sooners, Maze and coach Jeff Capel agreed to part ways.
The birth of his daughter, 1 1/2-year-old Aailah Jewelz Maze, gave Bobby another reason to play hard at Hutchinson en route to numerous scholarship offers.
"Coach (Billy) Gillispie had come to see me, and I thought I was going there, with Kentucky having that basketball tradition,'' Maze said. "But right before I was ready to go public, Tennessee called.''
The Vols were in desperate need of a point guard with incumbent Ramar Smith leaving the program. Maze was a perfect fit, having thrived playing in an identical system to UT's at Hutchinson. His coach, Ryan Swanson coached with Pearl (Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and UT assistant Steve Forbes (Barton County CC, Kansas).
Maze visited, committed, and arrived in Knoxville with a nickname in place, being tabbed "The Solution'' on the Sports Page radio show, a reference to his similar appearance to NBA star Allan Iverson, who's known as "The Answer.''
Maze embraced the nickname upon hearing it, including it in two freestyle raps he has performed on local radio and a YouTube video.
"I am the resolution, and the solution, and all you haters are just pollution,'' Maze sings in his rap, trumpeting throughout the song that he "puts on for Tennessee.''
Maze said the freestyle rap is a form of expression he uses to share ideas and experiences he feels strongly about.
Johnson, who plays for the Spurs, is a rapper with the "Big Money Records" label. Maze has spent the past four summers with Johnson in Denver, where Johnson has a music studio in his basement.
"While I'm in Denver I work out with Demarr, Melo (Carmelo Anthony), Earl Boykins and Chauncey Billups,'' Maze said. "I see how it is with them, how they handle all the attention they get, and how hard they work.
"They work extremely hard in the gym, like two or three times every day.''
Maze's experiences have led him to handle himself like a pro on and off the court.
"You have to be mature and act like an adult,'' Maze said. "I'm just real.''
© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 100
Bigger_Al writes:
Was that the "Buzz Patterson School" in NC?
(Just kidding...)
BillVol writes:
This young man sounds like he is very mature and has his act together. Don't read too much into a rap song.
mempuss writes:
I welcome any "solution" to our previously terrible point guard play! Welcome B-Maze!!
VolPride_13 writes:
I knew he looked like someone familiar!! LOL!!
Maze, take to the Championship, dawg! LOL!!
TNfaninMS writes:
does he remind anyone else of alan iverson? The pic looks just like him to me. ANYWAY
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO VOLS
smashmouth98 writes:
He is gonna be HUGE for us this year. He is a heck of a player. He is fun to watch. He plays with tenacity. I can't wait till the season starts. Oh that's right, football is comming first.
nicksjuzunk#646117 writes:
Gettin down jiggy wit my Tennessee vols
Skipin through the league like ol' study hall
Whippin on some kitty's like they feet full of lead
After, grab some chicken, tea N cornbread
Headin to March goin through straight 5
National Championship, bring it home I-75.
Ode to TN Vols 08'09'
by NicksJuzunk Copyrighted.
mparker writes:
let's hope the work ethic rubs off on his teammates. he's got a good point about how the pros handle themselves.
Hunter writes:
Tennessee took Kentucky head on for a recruit and won convincingly. Things have changed on the Hill, boys.....
Hunter writes:
Tennessee took Kentucky head on for a recruit and won convincingly. Things have changed on the Hill, boys.....
VOLS85 writes:
...and he can score, something we have been missing dearly from the point for the past two years! A point guard is the most essential part of a national championship team...they have to be able to control the game, its tempo, and decide who to feed to and when to feed it to them...there isn't a spot on the floor that is more important. I like what I'm seeing, I just hope his head stays on straight.
ZR writes:
By championship I hope he meant NCAA tournament region championship.
volmattna writes:
I love this dude he is gonna be a big help to us this year lets win an sec and national title bobby GO VOLS!!!
DenmarkVol writes:
Man, I sure hope this kid can play point because I sure don't like him, based on what I've read since he committed.
b_neas writes:
Am I the only one who thinks he resembles Allen Iverson? Lets hope their games mirror each other and their character are opposites!
GreerVol22 writes:
nicksjuzunk...word
nice to have a pt guard that can dribble instead of a Prince that thinks he can.
askUncleMaze writes:
This is for DENMARKVOL...........
WHat have you read that's so bad? We all know you can't believe everything you read.... Im B.Maze uncle if you have a Question just ask... I was in Knox. TN all last week with him and he Loves it down there...
BADGES0413 writes:
Uncle Maze,
Marvin Gaye said it best--
"People say beleive half of what you see
Son and none of what you hear."
I like the kid, he brings the confidence needed to be a good point guard in the SEC.
rootin4volz writes:
Now THIS is a guy to get excited about!
Silent_Fulmer writes:
LOL, hey Denmark, I can't wait to see what your response is
WVVOLFAN writes:
In the paper this AM, KNS had Maze listed as a freshman under 2 photos. Come on KNS, you can do a lot better than that.
DenmarkVol writes:
No apologies and I hope I'm wrong about this kid. I probably am. But I've seen too many athletes full of ME come through our sports programs (e.g. Kelly Washington, Jamal Lewis, et al). The team always came second behind their narcissism.
Like I said, I'm probably wrong about Bobby. But his media persona thus far turns me off.
Regardless, I trust BP implicitly and don't think he'd bring another K. Washington to Knoxville.
cjraney writes:
Uncle Maze-
We're happy to have your nephew join the Vol family. But I know Carmelo likes the herb so please remind BMaze what happened to Duke and Ramar. We all want to see him succeed here and take advantage of his opportunity to be The Solution.
askUncleMaze writes:
To Whom it May Concern...........
Like I said before B.Maze does not smoke anything.. Let's be real just b/c a young Blackman has Braids & Tattoo's doesnt means he SMOKES.... I dont think nobody in Knox. Tn knows him better than me.....
TommyJack writes:
Uncle: Fair enough.
tenncorncob writes:
DenmarkVol, let me ask you a question....if Jamal Lewis was available as a "recruit" for this football season, would you want him on our team? Athletes in this day and age are just about all in the ME generation. With all the spotlights on sports how can they be any other way? That's why Pearl is such a--for lack of a better word--Pearl! He handles these ME guys in such a positive way and makes them play hard for PT. GO VOLS <><
cjraney writes:
Uncle-
I'm not pointing fingers at all. I just enjoy seeing UT players and teams succeed and I hate to see young adults miss opportunities by making bad decisions. Go Vols!
givim6 writes:
Till he shows otherwise, he should be given all of our respect and support!
Make this a NO POLLUTION ZONE!
askUncleMaze writes:
Dont get me wrong Im glad he's @ UT. I picked UT over MD,KT and Cinn. anyway months ago. We the Family of B.Maze is glad he @ UT. WE will be there for his 1st home game and all the Big games as well. I wish the season was starting next week.....
hcjournals#206623 writes:
Sometimes I feel like the positive police. Hey uncle- You'll like GoVols.com. We just get some idiots who think because they have a computer they are commentators. My question is.....How good is he? Did we all get very lucky here in terms of timing? We have a good nucleus of players, but yes, we need help at guard. This team might be very special, and, your nephew is also right in saying that whoever works the hardest will get the fruit. Welcome from one of the real supporters. You'll love Knoxville...
volguy41nlouisiana writes:
Uncle Maze....race has nothing to do with smokin weed.....heck ...im sure that Childress hits it too.....but from previous instances it has been a problem with some players....(players....not black players)...we just dont want Bobby to fall into the same pitfalls is all....beleive me...color has nothing to do with it...they are all Orange to us...Go Vols
auttat writes:
Thanks uncle for bringing quite a bit a perspective to the site. How somebody can form an opinion about a person by reading 2 articles about them, is pretty fascinating. We often times forget that they have parents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles that all care for them and actually know them.
marc_ash#231781 writes:
unclemaze,
If you are truly Maze's uncle then what a welcomed "inside source" we have on the board. I do not think cjraney was trying to call out bmaze specifically for smoking. However, please understand that Vol fans grow concerned with the decisions players make and how it reflects on the state and the University.
Personally, I don't feel race or the number of tattoo's a person has is even considered as a precursor to determining whether or not someone does drugs or not. What is important is how players represent themselves (on and off the court/field of play).
I've enjoyed what I've seen from maze so far and he is definitely welcomed in Knoxville.
Oh, with you guys being so close, maybe you can have him jump on the board and give us some personal insight. What do you think unkie-maze?
auttat writes:
"The kool aid drinkers are used to the football coach having no control over his players. Coach Pearl has full control over his team."
Ummm....quite a bold statement. Let's see, he has been here 3 years and had 2 kicked off for dealing crack, 3 others for smoking and not going to class. Full control can have different meanings I guess.
I haven't a single clue about Maze's character. On the other hand, I know things about others on or formerly on the team that most would not like to hear. Can we not all just agree that nobody is perfect?
BADGES0413 writes:
Have to disagree with you Kingsport, Pearl has had problems with 30% of the players he has brought in (Ramar, Duke, Passley). If Coach Fulmer had to kick 30% of his players off the team it would be mutiny. No disrespect to Pearl, but it is tough for any coach to babysit 24 - 7 - 365.
volguy41nlouisiana writes:
autat....Can we not all just agree that nobody is perfect?
Wow....now what are all these whiners and moaners gonna think if they are perfect...??LMAO...Im sure they have donned their trash cans on their heads and are in the midst of ramming into numerous walls trying to grasp that comment you made....lol....nice post....have a great day ...GO VOLS
volguy41nlouisiana writes:
oops...meant arent perfect....(see..point taken right there)
VenomousVol writes:
Welcome to the Big Orange nation Uncle Maze! I saw the first game between Bobby's team and Tyler's team. It was incredible. After I had seen about 5 minutes of BMaze I knew our point guard troubles were over. He went on to score 47 that night making one clutch play after another. Tell Bobby to stay out of trouble and handle his business. By the end of the year he will have this town in the palm of his hand.
VenomousVol writes:
Ashley.... you are either a man with a b****'s name or a b**** in a man's discussion. Either way , go get back on Fulmer's junk. You seem so much more natural there.
b_neas writes:
ash - whats up with you saying you do not talk bad about the bball team? That was your comment weeks ago. I guess saying hope you like sweet 16's is not being negative in your little fantasy world.
TommyJack writes:
What if Uncle Maze IS Bobby Maze? Now that's an inside source.
cjraney writes:
Ashley-
What's wrong with you? Have you gone over to the dark side?
overatedvols writes:
Tigers in a blowout in Jan. Doesn't matter who's on the team. Tigers always best.
By the way, why all the defense of tatoos? It was one of your main insults for the Tigers last season.
Tigers # 1 Now, they are suddenly ok. Go figure.
b_neas writes:
Tigers always best? Apparently you do not remember the head to head matchups, funny how people with selective memories are.
TommyJack writes:
Tats blow. Period.
murrayvol writes:
nicksjuzunk: Hang onto that day job with extreme tenacity bro. lol
murrayvol writes:
If the guys Maze will soon be kicking it to for real can proceed to make the shots, this team has a chance to be really special.
mempuss writes:
overated likes playing butt darts with coach calamari!
overatedvols writes:
Notice. The Memphis-Kansas game is one of 3 games nominated by ESPN as the best game (any sport) of the year for the ESPY award. Winner will be announced July 20th.
I looked but could not find the Tenn.- Louisville match up listed as one of the top 3. Can't see how they missed that one. As close and gut wrenching as it was.
Raynoch writes:
Overrated, I'm sure Tiger fans will love reliving "The Shot" by Chalmers. I doubt Patriots and Lakers fans are bragging that their games are nominees for the best game of the year.
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