By Bil Nestor
The NBA Finals are here and they have a little more meaning this season for fans in the Mountain State. Former West Virginia University basketball standout Joe Mazzulla is the Head Coach of the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are locking up with the Dallas Mavericks in a best of seven, winner take all, series for the title.
Boston won both regular season match-ups, but the Mavs have been arguably the hottest team in basketball as of late. Mazzulla has been credited by many of his players for his innovative types of motivation throughout the grueling and lengthy regular season.
The strategies of the game are one key component of coaching the game of basketball, but as players grow in skill and age, they become more difficult to coachy. Egos come into play at the professional level and managing them is just as important as the x’s and o’s and the game decisions. Keeping these superstars in check is difficult for the most veteran of hoops coaches. Age and experience are issues that Mazzulla has had to overcome, but he has done so without concern. Joe has had just two years of experience running an NBA team (this is year number two with the Celtics) and at 35 years old, he is just eight years the senior of his star guard Jaylen Brown.
Last year, Boston fell short of its goal of an 18th championship. They are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers and the expectations are as high as any franchise in the League. Mazzulla felt the Heat from a seven game setback to Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago. He almost lost his job and that experience changed the former Mountaineer. It hardened him and made him even tougher, which in my opinion pushed him into a different headspace. He appears to now coach with a chip on his shoulder and that could lead him to his team earning an 18th chip in just a few weeks.
Mazzulla left the basketball program in Morgantown in 2011. The next year, Randy Mazey took over the baseball program in July of 2012. Since then, Mazey has taken the Mountaineers to places they have never been, both figuratively and literally.
When Mazey came to Morgantown, Hawley Field was the home of the Mountaineers. It was a nice facility that held up to 1,500 fans. In 2015, Mazey helped to bring a new home to the program, known at that time as Monongahela County Ballpark. It’s now been upgraded to Kendrick Family Ballpark with a capacity of 3,500 fans. Mazey helped to usher WVU into the Big 12 Conference, which is a major player on the college baseball scene.
Heading into this season, fans knew that this would be the last for Mazey. After an early exit from the Big 12 Tournament, Mountaineer Nation was left wondering if this was the end of the road for Mazey. WVU pulled an at large bid as the number three seed in the NCAA Baseball Championship, extending the veteran mentor’s time as the head man, while making history in the process. The Mountaineers qualified for the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1963-64.
Baseball is a game of momentum. After a quick two and out in the Big 12 Tourney, WVU had none, but their selection to the NCAA gave them a shot in the arm. They responded with three consecutive wins to claim the Tuscon Regional Crown. In the process, Mazey made more history as the Mountaineers advanced to the Super Regional for the first time in school history. With all of this success, Mazey may want to reconsider his retirement.
One coach is on his way up and the other is on his way out. The common denominator is that they have both done West Virginia proud!
That will do it for now. Until next week . . . take care and God Bless!