KNOXVILLE - Former University of Tennessee basketball standout Bobby Maze sat close to the baseline in the Knoxville Catholic High School gym recently, watching the host Fighting Irish and prestigious IMG Academy play in front of a packed house.
Next to him sat Clemson wide receiver and potential NFL first-round draft pick Tee Higgins, a B. Maze Elite AAU Basketball Club alumnus from Oak Ridge.
After the game ended, 71-53 in favor of the visitors from Bradenton, Florida, Maze was surrounded by 35 to 40 members of his various AAU programs as he sat in the stands and took a picture like a proud father watching his kids flourish.
His influence was obvious in the game that had just finished, considering no fewer than 10 players involved were members of B. Maze programs. Yet the former Volunteer, a 2009-10 senior, remembers his AAU program's early seasons five years ago, when he had rosters that weren't chock-full of high-level prospects, calling it "a real grind."
"We had kids that believed what we were trying to do," he told the Times Free Press on Saturday. "We also had the support from a lot of their family members and (were) trying to teach them what it was going to be like."
Maze hails from the Washington, D.C., area, where his competition included current NBA players such as Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson in their younger days. He knew what good basketball looked like, and after capping his collegiate career by being the starting point guard for the only Vols team to advance to the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight, Maze decided he wanted to try to spotlight what the region's basketball scene had to offer.
So he started with players in the Knoxville area. That led to opportunities to bring in even better prospects, such as Vols signee and 2020 McDonald's All American Jaden Springer, who will join current Tennessee players Jordan Bowden, Drew Pember and walk-on Kofi Maze - Bobby's brother - as former B. Maze team members to suit up in orange and white when he begins his collegiate career this fall.
"It's crazy," Bobby Maze said. "Ultimately I want the guys to find the best place that fits them, but seeing them go to Tennessee, a program I played for, is just great to see."
What Maze has developed is a reach. Springer hails from the Charlotte, North Carolina, area. So does 6-foot-8 high school freshman Mekhi Grant, who is projected to be a top-50 prospect once recruiting rankings come out for his class next year. Sophomore forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, who plays at IMG, is from Clarksville and is rated as a top-10 national prospect. Knoxville Catholic sophomore guard B.J. Edwards is from up the road in Johnson City and has offers from Tennessee and Auburn.
"It's great to see," Springer said after Saturday's game. "He's bringing in a bunch of great players."
Half of Knoxville Catholic's current roster plays AAU basketball for Maze, with senior Akeem Okipuise and sophomore Hadje Tamba standing out. At least three players from the Chattanooga area are part of the B. Maze program: Bradley Central junior Tray Curry (a top football prospect) and sophomore teammate Quante Berry plus Hamilton Heights junior Drew Williams.
Maze is pleased with the progress but believes the program is capable of even more.
"This is what it's all about. We're just going to try to keep building on that and let them know it's bigger than basketball," he said. "We have something here if we keep staying together. Jaden Springer was responsible for about 18 people getting Division I scholarships, and now you've got guys like B.J. Edwards that went up against the best competition and was able to stand out.
"It's really exciting to see so many kids from our program have the opportunity to play at a level like this. It's something I dreamed of."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.