UF point guard
Chris Chiozza, the team’s “wizard on the court,” is putting together an all-SEC season.
GAINESVILLE — The crowd watched the small, skinny kid darting up and down the basketball court, but few onlookers truly saw Chris Chiozza. Back during his middle-school days and long before he arrived at UF, Chiozza could be fully appreciated only by connoisseurs of the game. Fledgling AAU coach Norton Hurd knew he was witnessing a force of nature — all of 5-foot-6 and 100 pounds.
“I saw the wizardry and playmaking,” Hurd recalled. “I didn’t care how small he was, he had something special inside of him. A lot of people who didn’t know basketball might not have been impressed, but I was impressed with this little kid dribbling through people and throwing these no-look passes, making bounce passes the length of the court.
“That stuff still excites me, playing the game the right way.”
Playing the game his own way, too, Chiozza would become a perfect fit in a basketball town like Memphis. The pintsized point guard did not have to rely on high-flying dunks and long-range 3-pointers to bring fans to their feet. With more moves than Elvis and improvisational skills akin to the bluesmen performing on Beale Street, Chiozza exhibited the artistry that defines his hometown. While it was flashy, Chiozza’s game was rooted in fundamentals and a basketball IQ off the charts.