NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Rhode Island of last decade

7. Justin Mazzulla – George Washington / Vermont

It’s been a journey for Mazzulla, who recently finished up his D1 playing career after five seasons at a pair of schools. A 6’3 guard from Johnston, Mazzulla arrived at George Washington back in 2017 and played two full seasons with the Colonials. After playing briefly as a junior, he transferred to Vermont to spend his final two seasons, mostly as a starter for the Catamounts.

Mazzulla received limited chances early but worked his way into a starting role by the end of his freshman season. As a sophomore, he was a more important part of the offense, averaging 8.9 points and 3.5 assists per game, but the program struggled as a whole. After a coaching change, he eventually transferred to Vermont and spent most of those last two seasons starting the Catamount backcourt. He scored a career-high 23 points in a win over Maine and added 13 points and 9 rebounds in Vermont’s NCAA Tournament loss to Arkansas in his final career game.

Across his career, Mazzulla was a solid guard and played his role well at both George Washington and Vermont. He was among the leaders in both conferences in assistants and various defensive metrics, not necessarily known for his scoring but for setting up the offense around him. Mazzulla’s playing career may have come to an end, but we haven’t seen the last of him on D1 sidelines, as he’s been named a graduate assistant at Rhode Island under new coach Archie Miller.