When I sat down and called former Vol point guard Bobby Maze, my original intention was to do a long article based around his quotes regarding Jaden Springer, the five-star guard who committed to Tennessee’s men’s basketball program in the 2020 class on Wednesday. The former Vol served as Springer’s AAU coach with the B. Maze Elite, a summer travel team Maze started. Maze has coached Springer since the now-five-star was 14, so, unsurprisingly, he had a lot to say about the standout guard who plays for IMG Academy during the school year.
It wasn’t until after I had transcribed our full interview that I realized Maze’s thoughts were far too extensive to try and fit into the type of article I originally planned to write.
Instead of trying to plug Maze’s quotes into a long, woven tapestry of an article, I’ve decided to turn it into a Q&A of sorts. This way, all of you reading this can get his unfiltered thoughts (more or less) on Springer without me trying to force everything into a neat story.
Maze had a lot to say about Springer and Tennessee’s potential 2020 haul on the recruiting trail in general. I didn’t want to water any of it down with my own prose, so here are Bobby Maze’s thoughts, analysis, and predictions for five-star Jaden Springer.
Q: How much growth has Springer shown from when you first started coaching him to where he is now?
“When I recruited him to come to the program, he was the best 14-year-old I had ever seen in my life in terms of just his complete game. His physicality and his basketball IQ were super high. In that first year, we played 15U when he was 14, and he literally dominated, had a bunch of breakout games that summer. Fast forward to today, and he’s bigger now, about 6-5, his three point shot has improved, and he went from one of the best wings in the country to becoming a point guard. He played a lot of point in the GEICO National Championship last summer with IMG, and he played the point this summer for us before he was sidelined for the season with that foot injury in May.”
Q: How good is Springer at creating his own shot as a point guard?
“That’s what he does the best. He’s a great one-on-one player. He knows how to create a shot for himself by getting to the basket, and he has one of the best mid-range games that you can kinda compare to Richard Hamilton and what Kawhi Leonard is able to do, just getting to certain spots, raising up, and hitting those shots. He has amazing ball handling skills which could literally get him to anywhere on the court. He’s been playing against some of the best players in the country for quite some time now, and every single time, he never disappoints.”
Q: Is Springer the most physical wing/guard you’ve coached in AAU ball?
“By far. He initiates the contact. That’s what he does. He brings it on. That’s one of the things that I love about his game is how he plays, and every single time he brings it. He’s not afraid.”
Q: How good of a fit do you think Springer is as a point guard in the college game?
“I think he’d do really well (at PG). I’ll use myself as an example. By no means was I at any point the player that Jaden Springer is, but I played the two guard and wing most of my life, and I spent one year at prep school playing the point, and then I became one of the best point guards in the country, then I went to Oklahoma then to JUCO. Jaden has always had the ball in his hand, and good things happen with the ball in his hand. With him playing with (current Tennessee freshman) Drew Pember at 17U the year before this summer, the things those two were able to do…I felt like he’ll be great playing the point, and he’ll be great off the ball. He’s one guy that you don’t really put in a box.
“The best person I could compare him to in the NBA, and I’ve always said this, is that he’s like a young Derrick Rose or like a young Dwyane Wade. He can guard the best player on the floor, and he’s going to make them work. His defense gets undervalued. I’ve never seen a guard or another top player dominate Jaden. He’s gonna block shots, he’s gonna rebound, and he’s gonna score. He’s athletic, and when he gets in transition, he won’t do just a regular dunk; he’s gonna 360 it, he’s gonna dunk backwards. He’ll bring some excitement to this program that we haven’t seen in quite some time.”
Q: Keon Johnson (another 5-star Vol commit) is regarded as an elite defender, but what kind of defender is Springer?
“If you ask any player in the country who’s the toughest person that guarded them, they’ll say Jaden Springer. And now you got him and Keon, who both went head-to-head. I love Keon Johnson. We played against his program, EAB, and Keon is a tremendous defender. Him and Jaden could be one of the best tandems we’ve ever seen, and not just at Tennessee. The things those guys can do defensively and then offensively is amazing.”
Q: You were part of a highly-ranked signing class at Tennessee in 2008. Did you feel pressure back then, and how do you think this group of 2020 prospects Tennessee is working on signing will respond to that pressure?
“I don’t feel like there was much pressure. I know sometimes as a fan and as a writer it seems like that, but when you play basketball your whole life, there really is no pressure. I actually felt more pressure playing in my neighborhood trying to get a win than I did playing at the University of Tennessee. That’s just what you’re born to do, so I don’t feel like there’s much pressure.
“Keon is a guy that I have a lot of respect for. Corey Walker as well, and I believe he should be a five-star. He’s Grant Williams, bigger, with more handles coming in, more athletic, as a freshman. With Keon and Jaden, you have guys who are similar in height and who are both winners, and they both have that competitive nature where they’ll make each other better. You could see one of the most exciting Tennessee teams there ever was.”
Maze on Springer’s strength and ranking:
“Jaden Springer is underrated. Part of that, you know, there are a lot of politics in AAU when it comes to Nike, Under Armour, and things of that nature. If Jaden Springer played with Nike, he’d probably be a top five player. But our program is Under Armour, and we’ve had some really good players from Under Armour.
“Jaden just turned 17 on September 25th, so he is a lot younger than a lot of those other guys. So when he gets to Tennessee and turns 18, and now he really starts to get his grown man strength, he’s already stronger than everybody as is now. Imagine him at 18 years old and getting that strength and conditioning program at Tennessee with Coach G (Garrett Medenwald, Director of Men’s Basketball Sports Performance) and getting in there with one of the toughest coaches you’ll see in Rick Barnes. The sky is the limit with Rick Barnes.”
Q: Springer said in his commitment video he wants to win a national title at Tennessee. Do you think that’s possible with this group, and do you think this group could be the team to surpass you and your teammates that made it to the Elite Eight?
“This team here with an Yves Pons back, with a Jalen Johnson back, with Uros (Plavsic), who I think is phenomenal, and you have a Drew Pember, and The Big Ticket (Davonte Gaines), and Josiah James possibly coming back, the transfer from Oregon (Victor Bailey Jr.) who I really like because he’s a tough kid who can really guard and shoot the three. Then you add a Jaden Springer, a Corey Walker, a Keon Johnson, and whoever else…they got a chance to win the whole thing.
“These guys who are coming in aren’t your typical freshmen. They are as tough as it gets. They have played for winning programs, so they know what it’s like to win. Jaden went out there and averaged 26 (points) in the first two games out of three (in the GEICO National Championship) and led (IMG Academy) to a national championship and was Player of the Game for two out of the three games, but he didn’t win MVP of the whole championship. Why? Like I said earlier, there’s a lot of politics. But he’s won at every level. And now, you take a guy like Keon who’s won at EAB and Bell Buckle, and Corey Walker who’s now at Hargrave, I know his resume and what he’s done and capable of. When you add all of that up, the expectations are high, and they will be one of the best teams, I’ll say that. I believe they have the best chance to do it. If they’re going to surpass the Elite Eight team I was on, this is the team to do it.”
