George Washington University Athletics
Mazzulla Shows New Dimension
11/9/2018 10:11:00 AM | Men's Basketball, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
Already an established team leader, Justin Mazzulla showed his ability as a scorer on Thursday
Justin Mazzulla thundered toward the hoop and prepared for takeoff.
From the moment he received the outlet pass from Terry Nolan Jr., the GW guard had designs on a crowd-pleasing finish. Well ahead of the pack, he elevated with ease to hammer down the dunk that gave him a career-high 11 points two minutes into Thursday's second half against Siena.
A year ago, Mazzulla probably would've settled for a lay-in in that spot. Not anymore.
"I've always had bounce," Mazzulla said after finishing with a team-high 18 points, plus a personal-best eight rebounds. "It's just I was focusing on the other things like 'Don't miss the layup.' Now, I'm more focused on dunking the ball and getting that two points."
Mazzulla's mindset adjustment, backed up by an offseason of hard work, has been evident at every turn early this season. The hard-nosed sophomore who head coach Maurice Joseph calls "the heart and soul of our team" has continued to provide energy, leadership and emotion through two games, but he's also added scoring to his repertoire.
Mazzulla has looked comfortable and confident with the ball in his hands en route to averaging a team-high 13.5 points per game. After matching his career high with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting in the opener against Stony Brook, he smashed that mark Thursday on 8-of-14 from the field, highlighted by his breakaway slam.
Joseph has been pleased, but not surprised, by his captain's fast start.
"If you get in the gym and you work on it, your confidence is going to grow," Joseph said. "It's like the chicken and the egg. You've got to go work on your game to get that confidence. That's what he did."
Mazzulla made an immediate impact last year, emerging as a starter down the stretch when GW played its best basketball of the season. The Rhode Island native officially led the Colonials in assist-to-turnover ratio and specialized in the hustle-rewarding ghost stats that don't show up in the box score.
For those contributions, he was honored with the inaugural Shawnta Rogers Grit and Glue Award.
Yet, Mazzulla saw clear room for improvement on the offensive end. Opposing defenses often left him alone on the perimeter, daring him to shoot. He knew he needed to be more of a scoring threat for the Colonials to be their best.
That led to a grueling summer in which Mazzulla put in the work to transform his game.
"No sleep – that's what it looked like," Mazzulla said. "I take it serious. I want to be better in every category there is. So I'm going to do my best at whatever it takes."
Physically, the results are obvious. He's stronger and quicker thanks to his work in the weight room under first-year director of strength and conditioning Todd Hamer.
Mazzulla credits regular yoga sessions with helping him find the mental strength needed to boost his game. He got his first experience with the practice as a way to mix up his workouts in high school, and he's stuck with it, sometimes going with teammate Maceo Jack to a local studio.
"It helps me relax and focus," Mazzulla said. "That's when the confidence comes in. When you're relaxed and focused, it helps you be more into living in the moment."
So far, so good.
Mazzulla's shown his usually steady ball-handling, committing just two turnovers in 71 minutes. He's drawn charges, scrapped for loose balls and spoke up in huddles, same as ever.
That's not all, though. Of course, he still relishes quarterbacking the offense and setting up others, but he's picked his spots to attack the basket and shown a deft touch finishing in traffic around the rim.
After connecting on six 3-pointers all of last season, he's already hit three deep balls on five attempts through two games.
Mazzulla is confident he can carry that newfound confidence and improved skillset over to Sunday's road matchup at Virginia and well beyond.
"Last year, I was just…different," Mazzulla said. "This year, I'm myself. I found myself, and I'm ready."
From the moment he received the outlet pass from Terry Nolan Jr., the GW guard had designs on a crowd-pleasing finish. Well ahead of the pack, he elevated with ease to hammer down the dunk that gave him a career-high 11 points two minutes into Thursday's second half against Siena.
A year ago, Mazzulla probably would've settled for a lay-in in that spot. Not anymore.
"I've always had bounce," Mazzulla said after finishing with a team-high 18 points, plus a personal-best eight rebounds. "It's just I was focusing on the other things like 'Don't miss the layup.' Now, I'm more focused on dunking the ball and getting that two points."
Mazzulla's mindset adjustment, backed up by an offseason of hard work, has been evident at every turn early this season. The hard-nosed sophomore who head coach Maurice Joseph calls "the heart and soul of our team" has continued to provide energy, leadership and emotion through two games, but he's also added scoring to his repertoire.
Mazzulla has looked comfortable and confident with the ball in his hands en route to averaging a team-high 13.5 points per game. After matching his career high with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting in the opener against Stony Brook, he smashed that mark Thursday on 8-of-14 from the field, highlighted by his breakaway slam.
Joseph has been pleased, but not surprised, by his captain's fast start.
"If you get in the gym and you work on it, your confidence is going to grow," Joseph said. "It's like the chicken and the egg. You've got to go work on your game to get that confidence. That's what he did."
Mazzulla made an immediate impact last year, emerging as a starter down the stretch when GW played its best basketball of the season. The Rhode Island native officially led the Colonials in assist-to-turnover ratio and specialized in the hustle-rewarding ghost stats that don't show up in the box score.
For those contributions, he was honored with the inaugural Shawnta Rogers Grit and Glue Award.
Yet, Mazzulla saw clear room for improvement on the offensive end. Opposing defenses often left him alone on the perimeter, daring him to shoot. He knew he needed to be more of a scoring threat for the Colonials to be their best.
That led to a grueling summer in which Mazzulla put in the work to transform his game.
"No sleep – that's what it looked like," Mazzulla said. "I take it serious. I want to be better in every category there is. So I'm going to do my best at whatever it takes."
Physically, the results are obvious. He's stronger and quicker thanks to his work in the weight room under first-year director of strength and conditioning Todd Hamer.
Mazzulla credits regular yoga sessions with helping him find the mental strength needed to boost his game. He got his first experience with the practice as a way to mix up his workouts in high school, and he's stuck with it, sometimes going with teammate Maceo Jack to a local studio.
"It helps me relax and focus," Mazzulla said. "That's when the confidence comes in. When you're relaxed and focused, it helps you be more into living in the moment."
So far, so good.
Mazzulla's shown his usually steady ball-handling, committing just two turnovers in 71 minutes. He's drawn charges, scrapped for loose balls and spoke up in huddles, same as ever.
That's not all, though. Of course, he still relishes quarterbacking the offense and setting up others, but he's picked his spots to attack the basket and shown a deft touch finishing in traffic around the rim.
After connecting on six 3-pointers all of last season, he's already hit three deep balls on five attempts through two games.
Mazzulla is confident he can carry that newfound confidence and improved skillset over to Sunday's road matchup at Virginia and well beyond.
"Last year, I was just…different," Mazzulla said. "This year, I'm myself. I found myself, and I'm ready."
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