Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College coach Ryan Swanson said Bobby Maze would be a great fit for Tennessee.

As a Bruce Pearl protégé, Swanson would know better than anyone. Swanson spent two years as an assistant on Pearl’s staff at Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2001-03).

Maze, a 6-foot-3 point guard, was in Knoxville on Tuesday visiting the UT campus. Maze visited Cincinnati on Saturday and is scheduled to visit Kentucky this weekend.

The Vols are in dire need of an experienced point guard after it was announced last week that incumbent Ramar Smith would not be returning to the team next season.

Swanson said Maze could be successful in any system he plays in, but he’s confident Maze would do well in Pearl’s system because it’s the same one Swanson runs at Hutchinson.

“It’s a system that works well for Bobby,” said Swanson, who also played at Hutchinson. “I try, as much as possible, to emulate a lot of the same things that Bruce does and what we did at Milwaukee.

“Bobby obviously excelled at it, leading our league in scoring and finishing second in assists.”

Maze averaged 20.7 points, 6.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game last season and led the Blue Dragons with 55 steals.

“I want to check the best perimeter player on the other team every night,” Maze said Monday.

Maze was a hot topic of discussion on Knoxville talk radio stations and Internet chat boards Tuesday, with many commenting on his appearance in a rap music video.

Swanson said Maze’s swagger is undeniable, but by no means was it a distraction for his team.

“Bobby has a lot of personality, and that’s what makes him effective on the court,” Swanson said. “Bobby worked harder on his game than any kid we had last season. He’s a gym rat. He loves to play, and he’s the last guy to leave the gym.

“Bobby played 35 minutes a game, and when you play as fast as we play, that’s a ton.”

Swanson said he’s not sure of all of the reasons behin d Maze’s transfer from Oklahoma two seasons ago, but Maze didn’t have any issues with him at Hutchinson.

Maze originally committed to Maryland, another team that runs an uptempo system. But the Terps pulled their offer at the last minute before later coming back and saying they had room after all.

Maze wasn’t interested the second time around.

“Bobby has heard from about 50 Division I schools,” Swanson said. “Bobby is very intelligent; he’s been through this process before, and he can read between the lines.

“Tennessee would be a great fit for him, but he’ll make up his own mind. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Bobby wants to go to Tennessee.”

Swanson said UT assistant Steve Forbes made the most recent visit to Kansas early last week. Swanson said, Forbes gave him his first coaching job at Barton (Kan.) Community College when Forbes was the head coach there and the two have stayed good friends.

The Vols recruited Maze last fall and didn’t back off until Maze made a verbal commitment to attend Maryland.

Listening to Swanson describe Maze’s style of play, it’s understandable why UT showed interest in a junior college player even before Smith left the team.

“Bobby would prefer an assist over a basket for himself; he’s a pass-first guy,” he said. “But there were times we needed him to score 30, and he could do that. He has the best pull-up jumper from 15 to 18 feet of any kid I’ve coached, and he gets to the rim better than anyone I’ve coached.”

Swanson said when teams double-teamed Maze, he’d dish out double-digit assists.

“Bobby is the consummate point guard, and if you like point guards that can score like I do, and like Bruce does, he’s a dangerous player,” Swanson said. “When he’s back home in D.C. he plays in pro-ams with guys like Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley and Gilbert Arenas.

“Right or wrong, he’s not scared of anybody.”

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