Projo Sports Blog

Hendricken graduate and Johnston native Joe Mazzulla is in trouble for the second time since his outstanding performance in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, accused of domestic battery for allegedly grabbing a woman by the neck earlier this month at a bar in Morgantown, W.V.

Mazzulla, the West Virginia point guard who missed nearly all of last season because of a shoulder injury, has been indefinitely suspended from the team. Before last season, he pleaded guilty to public drunkenness and disorderly conduct following a scuffle with police at a Pittsburgh Pirates game.

In announcing the suspension, head coach Bob Huggins, who is a big fan of Mazzulla's hard-nosed style of play, said "We take violations of our team rules very seriously."

Mike Casazza, writing in the Charleston Daily Mail, has an argument for giving Mazzulla another chance: "Battering a woman is an abominable act, though all the facts have not been presented and you do wonder what transpired between the incident April 18 and the arrest April 24. ... So, yes, there are arguments for simply cutting ties with Mazzulla. Yet while it may be right for WVU, I'm just not sure it's the right thing to do to the player. By all accounts, a 20-year-old kid has been through hell this year. Obviously, he's not dealing with it very well. Does he really need to go at it alone?"

 Tags  Big East Bob Huggins college basketball Hendricken High School Joe Mazzulla West Virginia University

2 Comments

kerouac said:

WVU signed the player of the year from Pa., a kid named Dalton Pepper. He is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard who can defend. He makes Mazzulla unnecessary down there.

Link | April 27, 2009 4:14 PM
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Serious Business said:

Dalton isn't gonna run the point there, so I'm thinking they'll be a hole at the 1 for Mountaineers. Should have stayed home and went to PC. There's always URI

Link | April 27, 2009 5:09 PM
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