Sources say his attitude was the cause of problems.

NORMAN -- A strained relationship came to a head Tuesday when it was announced that point guard Bobby Maze had been dismissed from the Oklahoma basketball team.

"Bobby and I met last week and we came to an agreement that he and our program will part ways," OU coach Jeff Capel said in a statement. "This decision is best for Bobby and for our team."

No more details were offered, and Maze could not be reached for comment. However, sources close to the program said that Maze's freshman season was marked by immaturity and poor decisions, and that pattern continued into the first weeks of OU's offseason.

As one source put it: "Bobby was given opportunities here, not just an opportunity."

Sources said Maze's problems were never legal and rarely academic. Rather, they reportedly involved practice habits and overall attitude.

Capel benched Maze for the entire Dec. 21 game against Tulsa, and then again for the Feb. 7 home game against Oklahoma State. Maze did rebound from the OSU benching to average 26 minutes over OU's last eight games. He started five of the last six games, when he averaged six points and had 14 assists versus 11 turnovers.

He also seemed to be maturing.

"One of the things I love about Coach (Capel) is everybody has a fair chance. He never gives anybody anything," Maze said a few days after scoring 12 points in 26 minutes at Baylor on Feb. 10. "You pretty much have to earn it. Whoever performs the best in practice is playing. If I want to play, I have to really show up and have better practices."

That attitude change, however, was apparently fleeting.

A coach from Maze's prep school, according to one source, even attempted to reach out to his former player recently to let him know how tenuous his place on the team had become. Maze reportedly rebuffed the coach, however, and stopped attending offseason workouts two weeks ago.

A source said Maze had not left OU yet, but that he was planning on either transferring to another school or making a run at professional basketball.

His departure leaves the Sooners short on point guards.

Junior Austin Johnson, the point guard who gave way to Maze down last season's stretch, has averaged 5.3 points in two years hampered by injuries to both ankles. He figures to reinherit the point guard position, although Tony Neysmith, a 6-5 combo guard who Capel signed last November, played some point at Norcross (Ga.) High School.

The Sooners intend to add another point guard before the late signing period ends May 16. They have their sights set on McDonald's All-American Jai Lucas. John Lucas, Jai's father, told the Lexington Herald-Leader his son might be ready to choose a college by this weekend.

Ironically, a point guard crisis is what brought Maze to OU last June. Scottie Reynolds, a McDonald's All-American former Sooner coach Kelvin Sampson signed to take over the position, reneged on his letter of intent when Sampson left for Indiana last March.

Reynolds wound up at Villanova and Maze wound up at OU when Capel made him his first signee last June out of the Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C.

Maze missed the first seven games of last season with a broken foot. He worked his way back to average 5.6 points and 2.1 assists.

What it means

OU essentially lost its starting point guard with the dismissal of Bobby Maze. Maze emerged over the lastmonth of the season, making all five of his starts while providing an offensive spark.

Now, junior Austin Johnson reclaims the role.

Johnson has 36 starts over the past two years, but he has struggled to overcome offensive inconsistency, a rail-thin physique and two injured ankles.

Look for the Sooners to add a point guard before the late signing period ends May 16.

Guerin Emig 581-8355
guerin.emig@tulsaworld.com