Joe Mazzulla, come on down.
- Thread starter chilidawg
- Start date
Not a fan of his history at a bar, but I like him on the court (both player and coach) and it was admittedly over a decade ago.
Fan of Tatum being a fan of his, that’s probably the most important thing.
Hope he does well, obviously.
Fan of Tatum being a fan of his, that’s probably the most important thing.
Hope he does well, obviously.
He knows the system and is by all accounts well-respected by the players. You can't ask for much more from an assistant thrust into this position.
It's going to be really cool to see Mazzulla win a ring in his first year as a head coach.
It's going to be really cool to see Mazzulla win a ring in his first year as a head coach.
I played on teams with Joe’s dad in a couple of adult leagues over the years. The late Dan Mazzulla did a great job in Johnston Rhode Island helping the youth in that town with recreational opportunities, especially in basketball. They recently named the rec center in his honor.
Dan was one of the better players to come out of Rhode Island in his era, very tough and physical. His son Joe making it to the top of the coaching ranks in the basketball world, holding the head coaching job of the most storied franchise in basketball, is quite a tribute to that family.
I hope Joe knocks it out if the park in his first year. This team, on paper, when healthy, is everything a first year coach could want in a team.
that's cool that several of you know the family
I believe @HomeRunBaker has mentioned knowing the dad or watching a young Joe Mazzulla play hoops
Thread title needs correcting, least we can do is spell the guy's name correctly. 2 As, 2 Zs, 2 Ls... and hopefully a lot of Ws.
At the presser today Stevens was asked if he had any interest to coach in the interim and Brad shut that way down although Wyc seemed okay with it. Brad also said he would let Joe cook.
I loved Brad the coach, but he may be even better doing what he is doing. I think his role is to let Joe Cook, and be on joe's speed dial if HE needs guidance
Ironically, Joe played for Huggins which was all about keeping players inside the box.
I am rooting for Joe hard. Local kid, had an issue with drinking in college and made really bad decisions and by all accounts has self-corrected in a big way, and now is being handed the keys to the Ferrari to navigate a team with huge expectations among a huge firestorm. Would be a hell of a redemption story for the guy.
I will say this having myself been named an HC at the last minute of a varsity team (so not pro, lesser scale) when a previous coach was suddenly and unexpectedly let go. The task in front of him is super enormous and there are people around him who will support him and those also who will take advantage of him even if unknowingly. Here are some of the things on his plate just four days before camp:
It’s one thing to be the assistant and offer ideas and follow direction and yet another to be the one in charge and responsible. He will have to plan a camp (ugh) and preseason games and playing time in those games, and offensive and defensive strategies and base his entire camp and preseason games upon those decisions, and practice drawing up plays at timeouts, and scouting other teams that also informs him which offensive and defensive strategies to choose for his own team and also scout his own team which he honestly probably knows well by this point... and planning for how road trips will go and how and what to delegate to assistants (major decision) and why you should give up some control over certain things but not other things (and this will probably cause him the most stress). There is also S&C in season and warm up routines and locker room ettiique and philosophy of how to co-exist and the general culture he envisions and so and so on. He has SO SO much work ahead of him with almost no time.
It’s one thing to be the assistant and offer ideas and follow direction and yet another to be the one in charge and responsible. He will have to plan a camp (ugh) and preseason games and playing time in those games, and offensive and defensive strategies and base his entire camp and preseason games upon those decisions, and practice drawing up plays at timeouts, and scouting other teams that also informs him which offensive and defensive strategies to choose for his own team and also scout his own team which he honestly probably knows well by this point... and planning for how road trips will go and how and what to delegate to assistants (major decision) and why you should give up some control over certain things but not other things (and this will probably cause him the most stress). There is also S&C in season and warm up routines and locker room ettiique and philosophy of how to co-exist and the general culture he envisions and so and so on. He has SO SO much work ahead of him with almost no time.
Hopefully they can bring in someone who's done all of that before to help him.
Also, and I'm sorry if this is a weird question: what's his race? I just assumed the "The Celtics fired a Black coach" thing was because Mazzulla was white, but I honestly can't tell.
It's threading a needle. I agree they need a veteran HC as his right hand. But this coach needs to be humble and really believe in Joe and what the Cs are doing and be ok with being overruled at times. It's not as simple as bringing in any ex-HC. Brad and Joe need to trust this coach unconditionally.
I believe Joe Mazzulla is biracial. His father was Italian, and IIRC his mother is Black, with them meeting when Joe’s father played internationally. There is not much information about Joe‘s mother on the Internet. West Virginia University did not list the parents names in any of their pages when he was there. When Dan Mazzulla passed away there was no mention of his wife in the death notice, so they might have been divorced.
I appreciate that. I'll be direct. I was fortunate in that I walked into a situation with very strong senior leadership (think: Al) but also a team that had never gotten over the hump so they were open to hearing my take on things. I also had the fortune (could've been a misfortune) of "being assigned" a right hand who was a 25-year veteran coach. He did help me tremendously walk through all the potential pitfalls and landmines that a season with boosters' and parents' expectations can present and many of the logistics that lie outside of practices and Xs and Os. I furthermore was fortunate that he and I had the same assessment of where the team was currently at and where we thought we could out-navigate our district foes. Here's what was interesting. I would not necessarily have chosen him as my right hand man for the simple reason that we saw basketball and how it should be played as very, very different (and this is where it can go awry by bringing in someone from the outside). Now, I got lucky in the sense that for this team, the team I had before me, he and I aligned. As a public HS school coach you are dealt the hand that has been given to you; you cannot recruit.
Well, Joe at this late point is in a similar position. He has a hand in front of him and his job is to make the very best of it. But, you cannot just ask any veteran coach to join him and assume it will all work out swimmingly. Joe is vulnerable. He is new and very inexperienced. One of his strengths is he's been with the Cs since 2019 so he knows the personnel well and probably knows the NBA pretty well. I am sure he sat there last year on the bench a very ardent supporter of what Ime was doing but also went home at night thinking maybe I would've done this one thing differently. Now, Joe has his shot. But, this is not what I'm sure he envisioned when he dreamed of his opportunity. What he is stepping into is fraught with peril and on a much bigger stage than anything I dealt with, obviously. Joe is up against it and will probably sleep very little for a long time this season. My sincere hope is that Brad is able to find a veteran coach who has been at the helm but understands his/her place and is willing to challenge but ultimately champion Joe. Nothing else will probably work out otherwise.
Well, Joe at this late point is in a similar position. He has a hand in front of him and his job is to make the very best of it. But, you cannot just ask any veteran coach to join him and assume it will all work out swimmingly. Joe is vulnerable. He is new and very inexperienced. One of his strengths is he's been with the Cs since 2019 so he knows the personnel well and probably knows the NBA pretty well. I am sure he sat there last year on the bench a very ardent supporter of what Ime was doing but also went home at night thinking maybe I would've done this one thing differently. Now, Joe has his shot. But, this is not what I'm sure he envisioned when he dreamed of his opportunity. What he is stepping into is fraught with peril and on a much bigger stage than anything I dealt with, obviously. Joe is up against it and will probably sleep very little for a long time this season. My sincere hope is that Brad is able to find a veteran coach who has been at the helm but understands his/her place and is willing to challenge but ultimately champion Joe. Nothing else will probably work out otherwise.
RobMac used to coach and train players at Mazzulla’s high school, Bishop Hendricken in Warwick RI. IIRC, Joe was one of the players from Hendrickson that worked with this highly regarded skills trainer, and was a two time state player of the year. RobMac got his big break in 2007, working pre-draft with Derrick Rose when agent Arn Tellem wisely hired Rob after seeing the success he had with Ryan Gomes. Rob and Joe have been a big part of the Hendrickson basketball family, and are tight.
In my Internet research, his mother doesn't seem to come up at all. I'm hoping that that is not as sad as it seems.
Yeah I posted on FB about the time Joe ran out on the court in our Sunday morning runs in his diaper while dribbling a ball when he was 2. I was out with Dan and his buddy David one Friday night when he told us that his girlfriend was pregnant. So crazy looking back at those times. And yes, Danny passed last year and was a super giving guy.
It was dusty in my living room when the Ime news first broke and I realized that Joe was the next man up.
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Yes, Joe’s mother is black. I don’t know what happened to her as I moved away and lost touch with him but I do know that they weren’t together at the time of his passing or when he was diagnosed. Danny had been with a girl originally from Lincoln for awhile. Ironically, her Dad was the long time scorekeeper/scoreboard operator at Bryant when Danny played. Full circle.
While the points you raise are all legitimate, I think the bolded - which reads to me as almost a prediction of failure - is overly pessimistic. Mazzulla interviewed for at least one head coaching job this offseason, so desite his being an assistant coach who has never coached before, he was reaching that point in his career when he was going to get a shot.
Of course, this isn't a normal way to get that first coaching experience. The suddenness is going to be jarring. But the flip side of that is that he's not walking into a situation blind. The Celtics were gearing up for Ime's second season, with Ime's plans for training camp, etc., in place, and Mazzulla knows them and had input into those. Some of what he lacks in experience and loses with the suddenness he gains with familiarity. He's not walking into a clean slate situation.
Anyway, I'm not saying that Joe Mazzulla is sure to succeed, but I think that he probably will. In certain respects he has an easier job than Ime did last year, as the Celtics now have an identity, star players hitting their prime, an established track record. The only thing that makes this harder is the messy situation, but I think the players have a lot of professionalism which will help.
If you’re referring to David who ran a successful AAU program in Providence, he has been a friend for decades. I first met Dan when I played on one of David’s teams in an adult league. David must be thrilled about Joe’s rapid rise up the coaching ranks.
For those of us from Rhode Island who are very familiar with Joe Mazzulla, and his history in basketball, it isn’t a surprise that he became a head coach, although the rapid ascent probably wasn’t expected. Besides his father training him from as soon as he could dribble a basketball (along with training his brother and sister, both college players), he got great high school coaching by Bishop Hendrickson coach Jamal Gomes, one of the best high school coaches in the country, with a ridiculously successful record in both wins and losses, as well as in helping to develop quality young men for life after basketball.
The legal troubles Joe had at age 20, when he apparently was struggling personally when out of basketball with a possible career ending injury, were surprising and disappointing, but he was man enough to face his problems, (he pled guilty to disorderly conduct in the bar incident that was initially charged as domestic violence) got help for alcohol issues, and hadn’t had any problems since he’s been an adult.
For those Celtic fans wonder if Joe will be tough enough to deal with players almost his age and in one case older than him, Joe showed me his toughness, not that I needed to be further convinced, when he came back from injury and was able to man up, at 6’2,” on Boogie Cousins when Huggs deployed a box and one in their tournament upset of Kentucky, which played five future first round draft picks, including John Wall. There were a bunch of stories about Ime Udoka’s toughness when he was hired, but I can’t imagine Mazzulla won’t succeed because he wasn’t tough enough.
Mazzulla's parents were listed in this WVU bball brochure: https://issuu.com/wvusportspub/docs/0910mensbasketball-issuu. Her name is LaTresa.
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agree with this; also presume that people are going to beat down her door to get an interview. i hope she and the family are ready for this.
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QUOTE="Eddie Jurak, post: 5185360, member: 411"]
Anyway, I'm not saying that Joe Mazzulla is sure to succeed, but I think that he probably will. In certain respects he has an easier job than Ime did last year, as the Celtics now have an identity, star players hitting their prime, an established track record. The only thing that makes this harder is the messy situation, but I think the players have a lot of professionalism which will help.
[/QUOTE]
This is an excellent point. The Celtics have a lot of very mature, respectful players, even the ones who are now hitting their mid-20s. Jaylen Brown is a feminist who on many occasions has stressed how important it is for men to always respect women. Grant Williams appears to be a high character guy. Al Horford is a family man who has been in the public eye for two decades without any problems. Jayson Tatum‘s relationship with his mom is well known, and even with the gossip stories about his relationships with various singers and IG models, is a father first. Rob is a family man. Derrick White is a well grounded pro athlete and a family man. Malcolm Brogdon is well known for his character and maturity.
His players must be very disappointed in Ime Udoka, but they’re probably relieved that Joe Mazzulla with provide them with continuity from last season’s success. It probably would have been more of a disaster in the team tried to bring in a new coach, even one with a good track record. Mazzulla does not have the cachet of being a former NBA player, but he certainly has more basketball playing cred than Will Hardy, who coached these players hard last season as Ime’s number one assistant. I’m guess he will rely on Damon Stoudemire‘ advice, as Udoka did. It actually might be a bad idea bringing in a veteran coach at this stage. It could undercut Mazzulla’s authority, and it could send the message to the rest of the staff than management doesn’t have confidence in them to move up a chair. Brad Stevens can mentor Mazzulla if needed.
Anyway, I'm not saying that Joe Mazzulla is sure to succeed, but I think that he probably will. In certain respects he has an easier job than Ime did last year, as the Celtics now have an identity, star players hitting their prime, an established track record. The only thing that makes this harder is the messy situation, but I think the players have a lot of professionalism which will help.
[/QUOTE]
This is an excellent point. The Celtics have a lot of very mature, respectful players, even the ones who are now hitting their mid-20s. Jaylen Brown is a feminist who on many occasions has stressed how important it is for men to always respect women. Grant Williams appears to be a high character guy. Al Horford is a family man who has been in the public eye for two decades without any problems. Jayson Tatum‘s relationship with his mom is well known, and even with the gossip stories about his relationships with various singers and IG models, is a father first. Rob is a family man. Derrick White is a well grounded pro athlete and a family man. Malcolm Brogdon is well known for his character and maturity.
His players must be very disappointed in Ime Udoka, but they’re probably relieved that Joe Mazzulla with provide them with continuity from last season’s success. It probably would have been more of a disaster in the team tried to bring in a new coach, even one with a good track record. Mazzulla does not have the cachet of being a former NBA player, but he certainly has more basketball playing cred than Will Hardy, who coached these players hard last season as Ime’s number one assistant. I’m guess he will rely on Damon Stoudemire‘ advice, as Udoka did. It actually might be a bad idea bringing in a veteran coach at this stage. It could undercut Mazzulla’s authority, and it could send the message to the rest of the staff than management doesn’t have confidence in them to move up a chair. Brad Stevens can mentor Mazzulla if needed.
This is an excellent point. The Celtics have a lot of very mature, respectful players, even the ones who are now hitting their mid-20s. Jaylen Brown is a feminist who on many occasions has stressed how important it is for men to always respect women. Grant Williams appears to be a high character guy. Al Horford is a family man who has been in the public eye for two decades without any problems. Jayson Tatum‘s relationship with his mom is well known, and even with the gossip stories about his relationships with various singers and IG models, is a father first. Rob is a family man. Derrick White is a well grounded pro athlete and a family man. Malcolm Brogdon is well known for his character and maturity.
His players must be very disappointed in Ime Udoka, but they’re probably relieved that Joe Mazzulla with provide them with continuity from last season’s success. It probably would have been more of a disaster in the team tried to bring in a new coach, even one with a good track record. Mazzulla does not have the cachet of being a former NBA player, but he certainly has more basketball playing cred than Will Hardy, who coached these players hard last season as Ime’s number one assistant. I’m guess he will rely on Damon Stoudemire‘ advice, as Udoka did. It actually might be a bad idea bringing in a veteran coach at this stage. It could undercut Mazzulla’s authority, and it could send the message to the rest of the staff than management doesn’t have confidence in them to move up a chair. Brad Stevens can mentor Mazzulla if needed.
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Yep. Joe seems to be highly regarded, and the bolded is the veteran mentor available if needed. You don't need to be on the bench to help out with mentoring and prep and such.
Dan’s first wife was from when he played internationally. Joe’s mom is black. I don’t believe they ever married but stayed close. They were dating when Dan and I lived together in L.A. and she moved to RI when he went back home. She’s a wonderful person, but I haven’t seen her in nearly 30 years.
Dudes from Johnston. I don’t think anyone should be questioning his toughness. Wow I remember Jamal when he was in HS trying to get into out pickup games down at Aqueduct pool outdoor courts. I haven’t seen him since he was in college but he was such a super good kid back then.
Oh and yes David A. was who I was referring to earlier.
If you played pickup at the pool in Cranston, we must’ve played ball together many times. Jamal ended up being the best player there when he was college age and after. He was one of the first students in my first plyometrics group that I taught, a gazillion years ago, when few people in the US knew what it was. I can’t talk highly enough about him. If he wasn’t so loyal to his high school, the sky would be the limit on his coaching career, if he wanted to move into the college ranks. Coach Gomes, a star PG at Stonehill, gave Mazzulla a solid basketball foundation as his floor general for all four HS years.
I’m sorry you read it that way. I’m not pessimistic. Just being real about what he’s up against. We should all bear that in mind when the games start. I am confident he will do his best and Brad will try to support him where needed. Joe has a ginormous task in front of him. He is I am sure well aware and so is Brad. My major point was simply you cannot just assign him any veteran coach and given the circumstances he is in a very unusual situation. I am rooting for Joe. And for the Celtics hard. Have been there to a lesser degree. It’s a really hard job normally and much harder how Joe is walking into it. We should give him a break for some time.
I will always give deference to you for your knowledge of NE local basketball and this gives me heart. Toughness is a necessity in basketball like it or not. I only know Joe from a distance and watching him play at WVU. It’d be an amazing story if he can get the Celtics over the final hump. Even coming short but still being highly competitive given how he’s walking into this situation should result in nothing but praise and gratefulness.
Yep. Joe seems to be highly regarded, and the bolded is the veteran mentor available if needed. You don't need to be on the bench to help out with mentoring and prep and such.
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Yea, the veteran coach has to fit in seemlessly or otherwise you should not do it all. Seriously. A veteran coach who has his own agenda or way of seeing the game that diverges from Joe would be a disaster. Better off with Joe and Damon and Brad plus whomever.
Edit: in other words I cannot stress enough how vital it is for all coaches and players to be on the same page. This is the essence of 5-on-5 basketball
Maybe this was already addressed, but I found it interesting that Mazzulla was so far down the bench last year. I think I heard Scal say he was maybe 4th or 5th down the line, nowhere near the front of the bench.
I guess he was promoted to Hardy’s spot (to prevent him going to Utah?) and in theory was next in line, but still interesting. I’m in the “In Brad We Trust” camp on this decision 100%, and expect it to work fine if there is buy in from the team.
But what a way to start your NBA head coaching career.
I guess he was promoted to Hardy’s spot (to prevent him going to Utah?) and in theory was next in line, but still interesting. I’m in the “In Brad We Trust” camp on this decision 100%, and expect it to work fine if there is buy in from the team.
But what a way to start your NBA head coaching career.
Here's some insight on the move:
https://www.bostonsportsjournal.com/2022/09/23/nba-notebook-who-is-celtics-interim-head-coach-joe-mazzulla
Hardy wanted to bring Mazzulla with him as his top assistant in Utah, so the Celtics must have made some effort to keep him on the staff.
Stevens, Udoka (pre-suspension), Will Hardy/Danny Ainge, and the players all seem to be pretty bullish on him.
https://www.bostonsportsjournal.com/2022/09/23/nba-notebook-who-is-celtics-interim-head-coach-joe-mazzulla
Mazzulla is the only guy who was here when Stevens was coach, so there is some familiarity there.
Hardy wanted to bring Mazzulla with him as his top assistant in Utah, so the Celtics must have made some effort to keep him on the staff.
Stevens, Udoka (pre-suspension), Will Hardy/Danny Ainge, and the players all seem to be pretty bullish on him.
The comp for me that keeps coming to mind is Steve Lavin at UCLA as a 30(?) year old in the mid-90’s. He was the 3rd Asst behind Lorenzo Romar and Greg White. They each took head jobs at Pepperdine(?) and Marshall following the season then like a month later when Jim Harrick was forced out due to a scandal caused by a massive amount of violations he was the only person on staff with a connection to the players and was promoted on an interim basis.
At the time I think Lavin may have been the youngest head coach in the history of the college game but certainly the least experienced having never been in either of the first two chairs next to the lead guy. It’s always “safe” to keep that interim tag on for a little while before committing all-in with the kid.
