Jerrod Calhoun, head coach at Youngstown State, has been coaching college hoops for almost two decades. He has known new Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla for almost as long. Their time together dates back to when Calhoun was an assistant coach under Bob Huggins at West Virginia and Mazzulla was a sophomore point guard during the 2007-08 season.
“Even back then, he was one of the smartest guys in the room, player or coach,” Calhoun told The Sporting News. “He had a great understanding of both sides of the ball, knew a lot about the game, and studied the game.”
Mazzulla was a gritty 6-foot-2, 200-pound guard that made his living as a floor general and defensive bulldog. His head coach Bob Huggins even put him on the 6-foot-11, 270-pound center DeMarcus Cousins when West Virginia played against Kentucky.
“He was one of those guards who, as a coach, you love to have. Because he sacrificed so much,” Calhoun noted. “The only thing he cared about was winning. He was one of the most competitive players you’ll see on the basketball court. If it was a sprint, or a rebounding drill, he was going to fight and claw.”
Mazzulla has coaching in his blood. His father, Dan, was a legendary high school coach. That coaching gene was passed onto Joe, even while he was still a player.
“A lot of the times that year, he coached the team in the huddles with our 1-3-1 [defense]. That was our closing defense the year we went to the Final Four, because he learned it from Coach Beilein when John Beilein was there [in Mazzulla’s freshman year]. Huggins did a great job of picking Joe’s brain and allowing him to coach.”
Mazzulla and Calhoun’s paths would cross years later after Mazzulla’s playing days were over. Calhoun got the head coaching job at Fairmont State in 2012, and he reached out to Mazzulla to join his staff as an assistant coach.
“I knew in about two weeks how good he really was,” Calhoun said. “I’m not surprised at all that he's an NBA head coach. I’m surprised under these circumstances.
"But I think this is a guy that is really, really, really smart when it comes to basketball. Obviously, he knows his X’s and O’s, but he’s got the full package. He understands the game, and he understands people. He was the best skill development coach I’ve ever seen. I’ve worked with a lot of coaches. He could take a player and really get that player to believe. Not only believe, but install those things that he needed to get better.”
“He’s a constant learner,” Calhoun said. “He can see the game at a very high rate, even in-game. He would make a lot of the adjustments for us or suggest things he saw.”
Mazzulla’s entry into coaching was a turning point in his life, but things weren’t always so smooth for him. Questions about his past arose after his unexpected promotion to Celtics head coach this summer. He made headlines back in 2008 while playing at West Virginia after being arrested for underage drinking and aggravated assault. He was arrested in a separate incident the following year for allegedly grabbing a woman by the neck at a bar. He addressed those troubling incidents during the Celtics’ media day.
"I’ve made mistakes. I’m not perfect," Mazzulla said. "I’ve hurt people, and I’ve had to use the situations I’ve put myself in as a younger man to become a better person. That’s what I’ve tried to focus on. How can I recreate my identity as a person? How can I rely on my faith, and how can I just have a positive impact on the people around me?"
Knowing him for as long as he has, Calhoun strongly believes that Mazzulla has changed into a completely different person. Mazzulla is a family man now, devoted to his faith, and sober for 12 years.
“He is a very disciplined person. Very much routine. I was there [with him] two weeks ago. He’s up at 6. He’s praying by 6:15. He’s taking a 30-minute walk by 6:30. I think that’s what makes him so great, is his vision and discipline. He’s very comfortable with who he is, because he lives a really good life.”
One of Mazzulla’s biggest strengths as a coach is his ability to connect with players. That started back in his coaching days with Calhoun.
“He knows how to relate to this generation. That is so important in what we are doing every day. At the college level, we’re together six months. At the NBA, they’re together nine months. There’s a lot of time you’re spending on the road and the court. What he can do is connect. He’s a connector.”
“He did that with our guys at Fairmont State. When I left to become the head coach at Youngstown State after five pretty good years, we got in a room. Basically, myself and the players named him to be the head coach. He was the guy. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He had such connections with everyone in the room.”
Calhoun and Mazzulla are still close and talk often. Calhoun will be flying to Boston to attend Tuesday’s home opener against the Sixers. He has no doubt that Mazzulla will soon be showing the world how good of a coach he is.
“He really listens. He’s not a know-it-all. He’s going to be a player’s coach, but when it’s time to go to his philosophy, he knows he’s prepared for that. That’s why I think he will be a very successful coach.”
