Just a few years ago Joe Mazulla was leading Bishop Hendricken (Warwick, RI) in a comeback victory in the Rhode Island State Championship over Cranston West, now he is leading West Virgina in the NCAA tourney.
Against Duke Mazulla was the heart and soul of the WV. He scored 13 pts, grabed 11 boards and had 8 assists.
Because the shortest player on the roster from the smallest state in the union played the biggest game of his career, seventh-seeded West Virginia is headed to the Sweet 16 for the third time in the last four years. And the TV darlings from Duke departed another NCAA Tournament well short of their goal.
Joe Mazzulla, a 6-2 sophomore guard from Rhode Island who has yet to start a college game, drove the Blue Devils to distraction in the second round of the West Regional at the Verizon Center yesterday. When early foul trouble among front-line players forced the Mountaineers to utilize a three-guard offense, the reserve provided a brilliant demonstration of versatility and determination that nearly resulted in a triple-double. In addition to scoring 13 points, he had eight assists and grabbed 11 rebounds, seven more than any player wearing a Duke uniform, in a 73-67 victory – newsday
Even Coach K was raving about Joe:
That kid was fabulous,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose team barely survived its first-round game against 15th-seeded Belmont Thursday night. “He looked like a mini-Jason Kidd out there, getting rebounds and assists and points. The star on that court today was No. 3. I told him that when we shook hands.”- newsday
His name was even brought up in the show Around the Horn on espn today, hes come a long way from a small state.
