By Bob Hertzel
MORGANTOWN — Point guard Joe Mazzulla, suspended indefinitely from the West Virginia University basketball team last week after a second arrest in an alcohol- and violence-related incident, is undergoing some kind of treatment, according to his father, Dan.
In a story in the Providence (R.I.) Journal on Tuesday, Dan Mazzulla said his son very much wants to remain on the team and at West Virginia and is being helped for a “personal issue.”
“He has some personal issues and he’s being treated as we speak,’’ Mazzulla said. “It’s a delicate issue.”
The elder Mazzulla would not go into what the issues were but said they were medically related.
“He absolutely loves it there. He’s getting proper treatment and he hopes to stay,” Mazzulla said.
Mazzulla, from Johnston, R.I., was arrested and charged with domestic battery after an incident at de Lazy Lizard nightclub in Morgantown. Mazzulla allegedly grabbed a woman by the neck at the bar.
The alleged incident occurred on April 18 and the criminal complaint was filed on April 19. Mazzulla was arraigned last Friday and released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond.
It was the second arrest for Mazzulla within a year. Last summer, while attending a Pittsburgh Pirates game, he and teammate Cam Thoroughman became involved with security personnel. He pleaded guilty to charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
It has been a difficult year for Mazzulla, a high-strung, competitive athlete. He came into last basketball season as the starting point guard but suffered a freak injury on what seemed to be an ordinary fall in the Mississippi game.
He was diagnosed with a break of the growth plate in his left shooting shoulder.
It was a painful injury. He tried to play with it, putting in six courageous minutes against Davidson in Madison Square Garden, but it was obvious that he could not perform right.
Mazzulla continued to work out and rehab, hoping to get back, but by January it was apparent that he would be best served by taking a medical redshirt and missing the rest of the season. He underwent surgery and remains undergoing rehabilitation from the surgery.
He is working out, shooting right-handed as he still has a problem getting his left arm above his head.
Coach Bob Huggins put freshman Truck Bryant in Mazzulla’s place last year, and the New York native became a productive player who might have actually beaten Mazzulla out for the job this year even if Mazzulla was completely healthy.
All of that, of course, has weighed heavily on Mazzulla’s mind.
Mazzulla has been a Big East Academic All-Star and a member of the WVU Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.
There has been some speculation that Huggins will allow Mazzulla to remain if he straightens himself out but will pull his scholarship. He is actually looking for a way to get two scholarships for his 2009 recruiting class and that could open one of them up.
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.
