MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — John Ross Mazza got a sneak peak of his future two years when Bridgeport played University in boys’ basketball.
“We played UHS my sophomore year, but not my junior year,” Mazza said. “Thankfully, I didn’t have to guard them that game.”
That Hawks team looked quite a bit different than the current edition, but still featured the likes of Kaden Metheny and K.J. McClurg — two of the most dominant scoring guard in West Virginia.
Two years later, as a senior, Mazza gets to play alongside the duo as the newest member of the UHS program, transferring from Bridgeport to University prior to the school year due to a family decision involving his father’s job.
While Bridgeport is no slouch in Class AA, Mazza walked into a situation that was unusual for someone that already had a lot of varsity experience, albeit at a different school. The Hawks were riding off a Class AAA state championship, and outside of the losses of Rodney Bucklew and Tyler Belt, returned everyone for another go at the title.
Mazza was a veteran, but not with the group that has already proven it had a winning formula.
“Honestly, I wasn’t too sure,” Mazza said on what he thought his role would be this season. “I was just hoping to come in and help us win games anyway I can.”
Although Mazza hadn’t played at this level with anyone at UHS, the AAU circuit allowed him to play with Metheny, McClurg, Mike Maumbe and Kyle Smith since all were in elementary school.
“It’s exciting to get to compete every day with very talented guys around you,” Mazza said. “I believe competing and playing with them will make me a better player in the long run. Our team has a lot of weapons and I’m very happy to be a part of it.”
Mazza started for the Indians last season as a junior, but with the depth at guard for UHS, it was going to be tough to break into the starting lineup. Mazza paid no mind to being in a bench role during the first half of the season — he was going to do whatever he could to help the Hawks (10-3).
“I’m happy to do whatever coach (Joe) Schmidle thinks is best for me to help our team win,” Mazza said. “If that means coming off the bench, that’s what I’m going to do and try to provide a spark for the team.”
And he did provide a spark Tuesday at Parkersburg South, although it wasn’t as a sub. Mazza made his first start against the Patriots after Schmidle said the season “started over” last Friday following a loss to Morgantown.
Mazza responded by scoring 21 points, tying Metheny for the team-high.
“Everyone’s starting job was up for grabs,” Schmidle said. “I had two new starters Tuesday because they outperformed the two that have been starting. Our lineup will be changing frequently, maybe game by game depending on who practices the best between games.”
The other new starter was Aaron Forbes in the post.
Mazza said he used great passes from Metheny and the energy of playing in front of a road crowd to help boost his performance.
Though is role continues to evolve, Mazza has acclimated himself nicely as the Hawks make another push toward a state championship.
“John Ross was a great fit with our program from the time he set foot in the gym,” Schmidle said. “He had played travel ball with a majority of our seniors since he was in grade school, so the chemistry was already established, as well as their friendships. He is a very mature kid with a team first mentality. Our kids welcomed him with open arms and he’s been big asset for University basketball.”
Mazza and the Hawks will host John Marshall at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
