Bob Huggins Offers Thoughts on Joe Mazzulla Becoming Interim Celtics Head Coach

All of Mountaineer Nation has been offering their support and congratulations to Joe Mazzulla since he was named the interim head coach of the NBA’s Boston Celtics, and that includes Bob Huggins.

Huggins, who coached Mazzulla during his time at WVU as a player, had this to say about the news.

“I think that everyone understood that Joe would be an outstanding coach if they watched him on the floor during his WVU Basketball playing days, said the Basketball Hall of Fame head coach.

He continued saying, “In our win over Kentucky in the Elite Eight, Joe knew what we needed to do to beat the No. 1 team in the country. I’m sure Joe will do a great job getting his players to take away the strengths of teams in the NBA. All of us associated with Mountaineer basketball are pleased for Joe. And we look forward to watching him this season.”

Mazzulla is taking over for Ime Udoka, who was suspended for a season after violating team guidelines. He has served as a coaching assistant for the Celtics since 2019, coaching under Brad Stevens and Udoka. Mazzulla was recently interviewed for the opened Utah Jazz job, making it all the way to interviews with the organization.

During his WVU days, Mazzulla was most known for his 17-point performance in the 2010 Elite Eight against Kentucky. Mazzulla stepped in for an injured Truck Bryant, helping the Mountaineers reach their first Final Four since 1959. Mazzulla played 145 career games at West Virginia.

Mazzulla began pursing a coaching career following his graduation from West Virginia. Following coaching stints at Glenville State and Fairmont State, the former Mountaineer was hired as an assistant of the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s G-League team. Mazzulla went back to Fairmont State in 2017 to serve as the head coach of the Fighting Falcons