Post by smiteedawgwv on Jun 9, 2010 8:44:30 GMT -5
By Mickey Furfari
For The Register-Herald
MORGANTOWN — Joe Mazzulla is preparing to be the leader of the West Virginia basketball team in 2010-11 as a fifth-year senior.
“I want to be the engine for our offense,” he said during a break in his summer workouts. “I hope I have the respect and attention of the other four players.”
In other words, he wants to be a coach on the floor.
Mazzulla, 5-foot-10, 190-pound native of Johnston, R.I., is an experienced point guard. He has lost 10 pounds since the school’s most successful season ended.
“I believe the lighter weight will give me more mobility,” he said.
He continues to rehab his left shoulder, on which he underwent surgery in 2009, while combining that with off-season workouts. The latter includes weight-lifting, running and shooting practice.
Mazzulla said, “The shoulder is doing pretty well. This year we kind of molded my lifting program around my rehab. So I do less weights and more laps.”
He tries to build more muscle around the shoulder and he keeps it strapped. It feels good, but he tries to avoid fatigue in his workouts.
He said he’s trying to get into his best-ever playing condition.
Mazzulla, a Big East Conference Academic All-Star, not only has the intelligence but quickness, speed and ball-handling skills to lead the offense. The left-hander also is an excellent defender who will take a charge.
“If I need to play 35 minutes in a game, I think I have the mentality and experience to do so,” he said.
He believes the Mountaineers can use last year’s 31-7 record, Big East Tournament title and NCAA Final Four finish as motivation for next season. WVU expects to be the hunted instead of the hunter next season.
Coach Bob Huggins has said the 2010-11 team will be the biggest and strongest he’s ever had in his 28 years as a head coach.
“Yes, I can envision that,” Mazzulla said. “This team will be different. I think it will have more of a low-post presence.
“I am the healthiest I’ve been in quite a while. So I want to keep staying healthy and getting into the best shape possible.”
Mazzula, who played only seven games in 2008-09 after injuring his shoulder, saw action in 37 games this past season. He was the starter in the final two contests.
He averaged 16.1 minutes per game, scored 99 points and had 88 assists, 67 rebounds and 24 steals.
For 112 career games, Mazzulla has 231 assists, 446 points, 216 rebounds and 76 steals.
He would rather direct the offense and set up others for scoring opportunities than pile up points himself, as he did as a high school star. He cherishes assists and uses his experience with his know-how to his advantage.
“I want to be a coach on the floor while doing my job,” he stressed. “I think that’s more important. I get more out of being an extension of Huggs on the floor.”
Mazzulla, who is a graduate student now, had probably his best all-around game in the upset win over Duke in the NCAA Tournament two years ago. He had 13 points and career highs of eight assists and five rebounds.
He tallied a career-best 17 points in the victory over No. 1-seeded Kentucky in this year’s NCAA Tournament. That gave WVU the East Region title and a spot in the Final Four.
But Mazzulla thought more of his performances against Notre Dame and Georgetown en route to WVU’s first-ever Big East championship.
“People were so hyped up about my points against Kentucky, but against Georgetown I had seven assists and no turnovers and I just kinda facilitated the offense,” he explained. “And in the Notre Dame game I had six assists and one turnover.
“I just felt like I was like Coach Huggs out there in both games. I kinda put people where they needed to be and we executed down the stretch.”
Mazzulla, who’s studying for a master’s degree in athletic coaching, said he’s more comfortable and more efficient when feeling like a coach on the court.
“I think when I have the reins and feel the most comfortable is when I kinda have the respect and the attention of the other four guys on the floor and I’m able to place them in a more productive position,” he concluded.
For The Register-Herald
MORGANTOWN — Joe Mazzulla is preparing to be the leader of the West Virginia basketball team in 2010-11 as a fifth-year senior.
“I want to be the engine for our offense,” he said during a break in his summer workouts. “I hope I have the respect and attention of the other four players.”
In other words, he wants to be a coach on the floor.
Mazzulla, 5-foot-10, 190-pound native of Johnston, R.I., is an experienced point guard. He has lost 10 pounds since the school’s most successful season ended.
“I believe the lighter weight will give me more mobility,” he said.
He continues to rehab his left shoulder, on which he underwent surgery in 2009, while combining that with off-season workouts. The latter includes weight-lifting, running and shooting practice.
Mazzulla said, “The shoulder is doing pretty well. This year we kind of molded my lifting program around my rehab. So I do less weights and more laps.”
He tries to build more muscle around the shoulder and he keeps it strapped. It feels good, but he tries to avoid fatigue in his workouts.
He said he’s trying to get into his best-ever playing condition.
Mazzulla, a Big East Conference Academic All-Star, not only has the intelligence but quickness, speed and ball-handling skills to lead the offense. The left-hander also is an excellent defender who will take a charge.
“If I need to play 35 minutes in a game, I think I have the mentality and experience to do so,” he said.
He believes the Mountaineers can use last year’s 31-7 record, Big East Tournament title and NCAA Final Four finish as motivation for next season. WVU expects to be the hunted instead of the hunter next season.
Coach Bob Huggins has said the 2010-11 team will be the biggest and strongest he’s ever had in his 28 years as a head coach.
“Yes, I can envision that,” Mazzulla said. “This team will be different. I think it will have more of a low-post presence.
“I am the healthiest I’ve been in quite a while. So I want to keep staying healthy and getting into the best shape possible.”
Mazzula, who played only seven games in 2008-09 after injuring his shoulder, saw action in 37 games this past season. He was the starter in the final two contests.
He averaged 16.1 minutes per game, scored 99 points and had 88 assists, 67 rebounds and 24 steals.
For 112 career games, Mazzulla has 231 assists, 446 points, 216 rebounds and 76 steals.
He would rather direct the offense and set up others for scoring opportunities than pile up points himself, as he did as a high school star. He cherishes assists and uses his experience with his know-how to his advantage.
“I want to be a coach on the floor while doing my job,” he stressed. “I think that’s more important. I get more out of being an extension of Huggs on the floor.”
Mazzulla, who is a graduate student now, had probably his best all-around game in the upset win over Duke in the NCAA Tournament two years ago. He had 13 points and career highs of eight assists and five rebounds.
He tallied a career-best 17 points in the victory over No. 1-seeded Kentucky in this year’s NCAA Tournament. That gave WVU the East Region title and a spot in the Final Four.
But Mazzulla thought more of his performances against Notre Dame and Georgetown en route to WVU’s first-ever Big East championship.
“People were so hyped up about my points against Kentucky, but against Georgetown I had seven assists and no turnovers and I just kinda facilitated the offense,” he explained. “And in the Notre Dame game I had six assists and one turnover.
“I just felt like I was like Coach Huggs out there in both games. I kinda put people where they needed to be and we executed down the stretch.”
Mazzulla, who’s studying for a master’s degree in athletic coaching, said he’s more comfortable and more efficient when feeling like a coach on the court.
“I think when I have the reins and feel the most comfortable is when I kinda have the respect and the attention of the other four guys on the floor and I’m able to place them in a more productive position,” he concluded.
