Fairmont State University wasted very little time in finding a replacement for head basketball coach Jarrod Calhoun, and hiring a name very familiar to both Fairmont State and West Virginia University basketball fans.
FSU announced Tuesday morning that Joe Mazzulla, a former WVU point guard and Fairmont State assistant, will be the Falcons' next head coach. Mazzulla steps in for Calhoun, who left the Division II school for Youngstown State in the Division I Horizon League.
"It is very humbling to get this opportunity and I'm excited to come home and lead a program that is loved and supported by a group of passionate community members," Mazzulla said in a university release. "Fairmont is a special place."
Mazzulla has five years assistant coaching experience in the Mountain East Conference - two at Glenville State and three at FSU. He left Fairmont before the 2016-17 season to take an assistant's position with the Maine Blue Claws of the NBA Development League.
He spent four years at WVU playing for both John Beilein and Bob Huggins. Mazzulla was the Mountaineers' sixth man during their 2010 Final Four run, scoring a season-high 17 points in the Elite Eight against Kentucky to help get WVU to that Final Four. As a senior, Mazzulla started 16 games and averaged 7.7 points and 3.8 rebounds, while dishing out 139 assists.
Calhoun told the Gazette-Mail in January 2016 that he didn't think it would take long for Mazzulla to become a head coach. His talent on the bench pointed toward a rapid ascent.
"He's the best skill-development guy I've ever seen," Calhoun said. "I think it's his knowledge. He watches games every night. He's a video guy. He watches games from Europe of some of his former teammates."
Mazzulla said in 2016 that skill development has as much to do with a player's mind as it does his body.
"First, it's developing that relationship," Mazzulla said. "It's getting that guy to trust that a coach can make me a better player. Developing that mindset and creating that buy-in with the kid is half the battle. And then it's a matter of believing. A lot of kids we have, they have the skill. It's just a matter of believing they have it."
The Falcons are coming of their most successful season in Division II, reaching the national title game, where they fell to Northwest Missouri State. FSU loses five seniors from that team, including MEC Player of the Year Matt Bingaya, but the majority of the roster returns university athletic director Tim McNeely said Mazzulla should be able to keep the momentum going.
"Coming off a national runner-up season, we wanted to keep the continuity and team chemistry as strong as possible," McNeely said, "and we believe Joe is the correct person to keep FSU basketball rolling in the right direction."
Mazzulla will be introduced as the new head coach at a 10 a.m. Wednesday press conference.