Mark Madsen Hires Adam Mazarei as Cal's Top Assistant Coach
New Cal basketball coach Mark Madsen made his first staff hire as Vanderbilt assistant Adam Mazarei has become the Golden Bears' associate head coach. Cal made the annoucement on Thursday.
Mazarei has been a Vanderbilt assistant for the past four seasons. Here's a look at Mazarei in action:
"Adam has a deep and expansive basketball mind and is one of the best Xs and Os coaches in the country," Madsen said in a statement. "His experience and success with the Memphis Grizzlies and most recently at Vanderbilt will mesh perfectly with where our program is heading in the future. Adam is a tireless leader and our young men are going to benefit from him on and off the court in the best ways possible. We're thrilled to have him in Bear Territory."
"I'm both excited and incredibly thankful to join the Cal family," Mazarei said in a statement. "Mark has been a consistent winner throughout his career and I greatly admire his unrelenting energy and desire to develop young men on and off the basketball court. I look forward to working alongside this terrific staff in Berkeley as we strive toward the common goal of building something special. I know this will be a tremendous opportunity to grow both as an individual and as a coach. Go Bears!"
Mazarei has been a key developmental coach at Vanderbilt under head coach Jerry Stackhouse. He was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2022-23 season. Before becoming a college assistant, Mazarei was an assistant for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies for six seasons. In three of those years in Memphis he was an assistant coach and for three years he worked in player development and scouting for the Grizzlies.
He was instrumental in much of Vanderbilt’s West Coast recruiting, including landing the commitment of point guard Ezra Manjon, a starting guard for Vandy who is from Antioch, Calif.
Mazarei, 40, attended Westlake High School in Ventura County, California, and later graduated from the University of Redlands, a Division III program located in Redlands, California. He led the nation in all divisions in turnover ratio while playing guard at Redlands.
Madsen will be making further additions to his coaching staff as time goes along. Whether he will bring any of his assistants at Utah Valley University with him to Cal remains to be seen.
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Cover photo of Adam Mazarei by Caitie McMekin, News Sentinel, USA TODAY NETWORK
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