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HCC Sports Information
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Hutchinson Community College All-American
point guard Bobby Maze officially signed with the University of Tennessee on
Wednesday. HCC head coach Ryan Swanson made the announcement on Thursday.
Maze becomes the fifth Blue Dragon from this
season to sign with a four-year school and second to a major university.
Sophomore Abdul Herrera signed to play at Kansas State University, while
freshman Blake Bales will sign with Division II Northwest Missouri State
University. Antonio Weary signed with Central Michigan and Henry Rogers
signed with Pittsburg State University.
In his one season at Hutchinson, Maze quickly
made a name for himself as one of the best point-guards in Blue Dragon
history. Maze became the first Blue Dragon since “Pooh” Gary in 2004 to earn
Jayhawk West Most Valuable Player honors.
Maze’s legacy at HCC was made from his
ability to distribute the ball with a style and frequency where oohs and
ahhs from the Blue Dragon faithful became commonplace.
Maze became only the third Blue Dragon point
guard to have 200 assists in a season, finishing with 218. That’s second on
HCC’s single-season list and ninth on the Blue Dragon career assist list.
Maze had a combined 30 assists in the 2007
Quarterback Classic on Nov. 1-3. Against Brown Mackie on Nov. 2, Maze broke
the school record for single-game assists for the first time when he had 13
assists.
The sophomore transfer from Oklahoma topped
that mark with an incredible 16 assists against Barton County on Jan. 23.
Maze had nine or more assists in a single game nine times, a feat no other
HCC point guard has ever accomplished.
Maze also turned himself into a solid scoring
threat, becoming the only HCC player this season to score in double figures
in every game.
Maze became the first Blue Dragon since
“Pooh” Hairston in 1994 to average 20 or more points for a season and is
only the 10th HCC player to do so since 1968. Maze averaged 20.7 points per
game, shooting 50.5 percent from the field overall and 72.9 percent from the
free-throw line.
Maze had five games of 30 or more points,
scoring 34 twice this season against No. 7 Arkansas-Fort Smith and Colby. He
had 16 games of 20 or more points.
He was named NJCAA Division I Men’s
Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 6
Maze had a perfect game against Friends
University JV on New Year's Day, going 7 of 7 from the field and 5 of 5 from
the free-throw line for 19 points. He also added 12 assists and had no
turnovers with two steals and a blocked shot. He then scored 21 points on 7
of 13 shooting in an 80-76 win over Seward County on Jan. 5.
Maze is the second Blue Dragon to sign with
Tennessee. Cortez Barnes signed with Tennessee in 1992. He’s the sixth Blue
Dragon since 1986 to sign with a Southeastern Conference school. Josh Gonner
was the last HCC player to sign in the SEC, signing with South Carolina in
2003. |
