Maryland Basketball: Tyree Evans, Gary Williams, and Bobby Maze Forever Linked

Maze verbally committed to Maryland in December, during his first and only season at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, where he averaged 20.7 points, 6.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game.  Maze started his collegiate career at Oklahoma, where he chipped in 5.6 points and 2.1 assists per game during his freshman year.

Like Evans, Maze does not have a squeaky-clean past.  According to Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel, Maze and the Sooners decided to “part ways” following his freshman season.   Maze’s attitude was reportedly the source of his falling out with Capel and the program. It was eerily similar to Evans’ troubles at Butler (Kan.) Community College, where he was dismissed from the team midseason, reportedly after being voted off the squad by his teammates despite being a top player. 

Also like Evans, Maze seems to have rebounded from his past mistakes and was, by all accounts, a delightful teammate this past season at Hutchinson.  His coach Ryan Swanson noted, “Bobby was clearly our best player, but I think the guys also respected Bobby because he was also our hardest worker.”  That's quite different from the attitude Maze displayed at Oklahoma.

Differentiating Maze from Evans, though, is the fact that Maze does not have a criminal background.  He is far less risky of a recruit. 

Evans signed with Maryland on April 16, forcing Williams to drop his pursuit of Maze since Evans took Maryland’s last available scholarship.

By choosing Evans over Maze, Williams upped the ante.  Not many questioned the recruitment of Maze.  Williams got a player in Evans who has a higher upside than Maze, but he also carries the coach’s legacy in the palm of his hands. 

And for a coach whose seat is already a bit warm, recruiting a super high-risk/high-reward player is the equivalent of going "all-in."

Even though he’ll be playing in Knoxville, Maze could have a significant impact in College Park this season. 

Maze’s performance won’t upstage Evans’ in terms of importance.  If Evans ends up being Steve Francis 2.0, no one in College Park will care how Maze is playing.  But if Evans is simply a good player—think Bambale Osby—more than a few Terps fans will be looking a little more carefully at Tennessee box scores. 

And if Evans turns into Parrish Brown or Sterling Ledbetter redux, while Maze shines at Tennessee?  There will be big trouble in Garyland.  In fact, Garyland might even need a new mailing address. 

That also will hold true if Evans gets into trouble during his stint at Maryland, especially if Maze is a model citizen.

This type of pressure is hard to imagine for one of the most successful coaches in ACC history.  Can you imagine Coach K ever being on the hot seat?  Having your name on the court seems to be pretty good job security.  But, such is the risk with players with Evans’ baggage.

Tyree Evans, Gary Williams, Bobby Maze.  The three will forever be linked together in the history book of Terps basketball.  Williams just hopes this isn’t the last chapter in which he appears. 

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