After 22 years, Dan Mazzulla leaves the court

Before Friday’s home game with Central Falls, Johnston girls’ basketball head coach Dan Mazzulla noticed a bigger crowd than usual.

The Lady Panthers were originally supposed to have their Senior Night at that game, but it had been pushed back to Feb. 23.

Mazzulla hoped everyone had gotten the memo.

“I saw some faces I hadn’t seen before,” Mazzulla said. “I said ‘Hey (assistant coach) Chris (Corsinetti), I hope these people aren’t here for Senior Night.’”

They weren’t. They were there for him.

The school had dedicated the night to Mazzulla, honoring him with a ceremony. The longtime coach, who has been at the helm for 22 years, is stepping down once this season ends. Johnston wanted to show its appreciation.

The made him a cake, had former players in attendance, and even had his son Joe, who plays basketball for West Virginia University, on speaker phone for the event.

“They surprised me,” Mazzulla said. “They invited quite a few of the past players. A good number attended. They did an absolutely tremendous job.”

It was fitting, considering the job Mazzulla has done coaching the Lady Panthers.

He led the team to three state championships – 1997-98, 1999-00 and 2001-02 – during his tenure, not to mention the multiple sportsmanship awards his teams received from the league.

This season, he’s led the team to an 11-3 record, which is the third-best in all of Division III.

It’s been quite a ride, every year since 1989.

“We came across a good number of people,” Mazzulla said. “I met a lot of families. I’m coaching some of the kids whose parents I coached. It’s pretty scary.”

He’ll be stepping down for a variety of reasons.

He’s also the head coach of the boys’ soccer team and the girls’ track team. Between the three sports, his work as the Johnston Direction of Parks and Recreation and the time he spends volunteering, it was quite a workload.

He also traveled frequently the last five years to see Joe play for West Virginia.

Mazzulla also has a 12-year-old son, and stepping back from basketball will give him a chance to spend more time with him as well. Finally, his daughter, Gianna, is a senior on the team and he wanted to wait until she was finished at the school.

“It’s a good time to get some rest,” Mazzulla said. “Sit back and look at everything. I’ve been really dragging myself.”

Mazzulla’s departure will leave the door open for Corsinetti, who is the likely replacement.

He’s been the assistant coach for 16 years.

“It would be a great opportunity for him to step in,” Mazzulla said of Corsinetti.

As far as Mazzulla coaching again, he’s left that door open. He certainly intends to take a year off, at a minimum, before considering getting back on the bench somewhere.

Even at that point, though, it would need to be the perfect situation.

“Right now I just want to get some rest,” Mazzulla said. “I want to be able to say that I can call my own shots, and if I don’t like something I don’t have to take it. If I do, I’ll take it.”

If he doesn’t decide to resume his career, he’ll still have plenty to think about from his first go-around.

On Friday, he heard from a few of his former players, who helped him relive some of those times.

“I’m hard on the kids I coach, and to hear them say that they appreciate the way we motivated them and pushed them to play hard, that’s a good feeling,” Mazzulla said. “They don’t realize until they get out of school. They don’t realize that it’s actually for their benefit.”

That night, his team pulled out a 50-33 victory over Central Falls. It was the Lady Panthers’ sixth win in their last seven games, as they try to send Mazzulla out on a positive note.

“It’s been fun,” Mazzulla said. “It’s good to see Alaina (DeNoncour) score 1,000 points. The kids are getting along well. We didn’t know what to expect this year, but we’re pleasantly happy.”

After 22 seasons, he’s had a lot to be happy about.

“Obviously the friendships that I’ve created, and the people that I coached,” Mazzulla said. “It’s been very good.”