Joe Mazzulla Thankful for Jerry West's Tough Love; Shares Stories from Days at WVU

One Mountaineer great remembers another.

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

West Virginia and the basketball community lost a great one on Wednesday as the legendary Jerry West passed away at the age of 86.

West is one of the brightest minds the game of basketball has ever seen and he made his impact on so many throughout his life, including former WVU guard and current Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla.

Prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Mazzulla was asked about his memories of Jerry West and he shared a couple of moments that he'll never forget.

"It's tough to lose him. Obviously, praying for Karen, Jonnie, and Ryan, and the rest of their family. My junior year in college I wasn't living up to anyone's standards and I got a call and it's Jerry. A lot of expletives, but essentially told me that I was an F up and was ruining an opportunity to be great at something and just let me have it for like 10-15 minutes. I thought it was one of the most impactful phone calls that I had really in my life. And then, I stayed at his house once and overslept for UCLA open gym and went down for breakfast and got another a** chewing because I wasn't being competitive enough. The thing I remember about him is he had a tough way of showing that he loved you, but he was super. super competitive and he really, really cared about you. He showed it in a way that kind of spoke to my language. He'll be missed and praying for the family."

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla on Jerry West:

"He had a tough way of showing that he loved you, but he was super, super competitive and he really, really cared about you."pic.twitter.com/lN70nE4aip

— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) June 13, 2024

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