Winning seems to follow 2027 guard Alex Mazzella wherever he goes. Coming fresh off a State Championship with Bergen Catholic (NJ), Mazzella is part of a group in NJ Beasts squad that’s off to a fantastic start to the grassroots season.
The six-foot New Jersey native led the Crusaders in assists, steals, and threes made in his first season under coach Billy Armstrong.
Mazzella recaps his season, talks about first year MHC experiences and more.
Bergen Catholic out of Bergen New Jersey has been one of the best programs in the country for quite some time now, seeing players like Elliott Cadeau, and Julius Avent come through the storied program.
This season, they just went back to back as State, County, and Sectional champs. 2027 guard Alex Mazzella was a huge contributor to the Crusaders’ success this year, and talks about the things he’s learned and how much he likes his new home.
“This season was definitely a great one, finishing the year 29-3,” he said. “Our state championship win gave us the most wins ever in a Bergen Catholic season. So many great moments came from this season, we won our league, our county, our section, and capped it all off with a state championship giving us the #1 spot in New Jersey. We went undefeated in state, which was also never done before in Bergen Catholic history. Being a team of this caliber we had to come out ready to play every game because we had that target on our back. That’s something I learned this year, just making sure we’re treating every game the same and playing with that high energy and intensity. As a team we worked so hard starting the second I got there when I transferred in, all the work we put resulted in our historic season.”
“It was a simple decision for me, I had an opportunity to play for one of the best, if not the best, coach in New Jersey,” said Mazzella. “My first year at Bergen Catholic Coach Billy Armstrong has helped me develop so much as a PG and I’m looking forward to my 2nd and final year with my Bergen Catholic family. We have so many guys that can go on our roster, so everyday in practice we are competing. I think we were easily the hardest working team in the state by far. Even on game days, we would have shoot around before every game. And it wasn’t a walk through type of shoot around, we’re competing playing 1s, 2s, and 3s just getting us ready for later. We made our practice environment so hard that when the game came, we were nothing but prepared. All of this started with our staff, we had by far the best coaches in the state.”
Mazzella is looking to carry out the same energy and positive habits in the grassroots season this year with NJ Beats MHC (NJ). This team so far has been off to an amazing start, earning wins against teams like New York City Rocks, Canada Elite and rolling through MHC competition. He talked about transitioning from HGSL to MHC, and his goals for the next 3 to 4 months.
“I think the competition is definitely stronger in the MHC,” he said. “Every game you have to come out ready to play because if you don’t, you will most likely lose the game. We witnessed it first hand, dominating during DMV Live starting 4-0, came out sleeping in game 5 which gave us our 2nd loss of the year. I also think the media here is the best around. They do a great job highlighting our big wins which means a lot to us because we work so hard and seeing our work pay off is a great feeling.
The main goal is to hold the trophy up at the end of July. But along the way picking up some offers and narrowing down my college decision is definitely a main goal of mine. I’ve worked my whole life for something like this, and knowing it’s right around the corner is definitely a surreal feeling. But lately I’ve just been trying to perfect my shot trying to stay consistent each time I step on the floor. I’ve also been working on my pick and roll reads, because as a point guard, it’s very important to be dominant in this part of the game.”
Since DMV Live, the six-foot sharpshooting guard has earned inquiries from American, Brown, Chattanooga, Cornell, Dartmouth, Drexel, Fairfield, Fordham, Lafayette, Marist, Northeastern and more.
