King Crimson
6/9/2006, 02:49 PM
http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=300&ATCLID=292081
NORMAN, Okla. - The Patterson School (Lenoir, N.C.) product Bobby Maze inked a financial aid agreement to attend the University of Oklahoma next year, announced OU men's basketball head coach Jeff Capel Friday, making Maze the first signee of the Capel era.
Maze, a 6-2, 180-pound guard who hails from Washington, D.C., is ranked No. 135 by Rivals.com in the 2006 national recruiting class and is rated as the country's No. 33 post-graduate prep player by HoopScoop. He averaged 14 points, five assists and three steals a game last year for a Patterson team that finished with a 34-3 record and a No. 3 final national ranking.
As a senior at Suitland High School in Forestville, Md., Maze averaged 20.3 points per contest.
Said Capel, "The first things that come to mind with Bobby are that he is fast and explosive. He's a young man who's really good with the ball in his hands and who can put it in the basket. He'll be one of the quickest guys with the ball that we have. I think he was a really good get for us, especially this late. He's very competitive and I think he's a young man who wants to be good. We're excited about him joining the Sooner family.
"I wouldn't necessarily classify him as a traditional point guard," continued Capel. "He's a good guard who can play multiple positions. I'm going to work with him on continuing to understand the point guard position. It's something I think he can do and he can be very effective for us. Right now, his greatest strength is probably scoring the basketball. That's not to say that he can't pass because he's good at that, too. He's a guy who will enable us to play another point guard with him. He has good size, he's a good athlete and I think he has the potential to be a very good defender because of his size, his length and athletic ability."
Scout.com basketball recruiting analyst Dave Telep said, "The one thing that stands out with Bobby Maze in seeing him as many times as I did is that he puts a lot of pressure on other guys guarding him. He makes it very difficult for other players to keep him in front of them. He does a tremendous job of getting into the paint and making a play for himself or someone else. I think at the end of the day, Bobby Maze's speed and shiftiness, and his ability to create shots, is what's really going to stand out at Oklahoma."
Added Patterson School head coach Chris Chaney, "Bobby can score almost any time he wants. He's a great competitor and he always plays to win. He's a definite team guy and wants to make his teammates better. He's a really good kid to be around."
Maze played on the same Patterson School team that featured fellow OU signee Tony Crocker. Crocker, a wing player who is originally from San Antonio, Texas, and Keith Clark, a forward from Putnam City High School in Oklahoma City, are top-100 national recruits who signed with the Sooners last November.
NORMAN, Okla. - The Patterson School (Lenoir, N.C.) product Bobby Maze inked a financial aid agreement to attend the University of Oklahoma next year, announced OU men's basketball head coach Jeff Capel Friday, making Maze the first signee of the Capel era.
Maze, a 6-2, 180-pound guard who hails from Washington, D.C., is ranked No. 135 by Rivals.com in the 2006 national recruiting class and is rated as the country's No. 33 post-graduate prep player by HoopScoop. He averaged 14 points, five assists and three steals a game last year for a Patterson team that finished with a 34-3 record and a No. 3 final national ranking.
As a senior at Suitland High School in Forestville, Md., Maze averaged 20.3 points per contest.
Said Capel, "The first things that come to mind with Bobby are that he is fast and explosive. He's a young man who's really good with the ball in his hands and who can put it in the basket. He'll be one of the quickest guys with the ball that we have. I think he was a really good get for us, especially this late. He's very competitive and I think he's a young man who wants to be good. We're excited about him joining the Sooner family.
"I wouldn't necessarily classify him as a traditional point guard," continued Capel. "He's a good guard who can play multiple positions. I'm going to work with him on continuing to understand the point guard position. It's something I think he can do and he can be very effective for us. Right now, his greatest strength is probably scoring the basketball. That's not to say that he can't pass because he's good at that, too. He's a guy who will enable us to play another point guard with him. He has good size, he's a good athlete and I think he has the potential to be a very good defender because of his size, his length and athletic ability."
Scout.com basketball recruiting analyst Dave Telep said, "The one thing that stands out with Bobby Maze in seeing him as many times as I did is that he puts a lot of pressure on other guys guarding him. He makes it very difficult for other players to keep him in front of them. He does a tremendous job of getting into the paint and making a play for himself or someone else. I think at the end of the day, Bobby Maze's speed and shiftiness, and his ability to create shots, is what's really going to stand out at Oklahoma."
Added Patterson School head coach Chris Chaney, "Bobby can score almost any time he wants. He's a great competitor and he always plays to win. He's a definite team guy and wants to make his teammates better. He's a really good kid to be around."
Maze played on the same Patterson School team that featured fellow OU signee Tony Crocker. Crocker, a wing player who is originally from San Antonio, Texas, and Keith Clark, a forward from Putnam City High School in Oklahoma City, are top-100 national recruits who signed with the Sooners last November.