NORFOLK — Late in the first overtime of arguably Old Dominion’s most legendary game, Mike Jones had just put his team in jeopardy.
Then a senior guard, Jones committed a turnover that led him to hang his head.
Mario Mullen would have none of it.
Moments later, during a timeout, Mullen and teammate E.J. Sherod urged Jones to get his chin off his chest and told Jones he was going to make a key play.
When Jones then drew a momentum-swinging charge, Mullen and Sherod were there to help him up.
The Monarchs went on to upset third-seeded Villanova in triple overtime, advancing in the 1995 NCAA Tournament. It’s not likely it would have happened without Mullen’s 16 points, 10 rebounds and timely words of encouragement.
Jones, now the first-year head coach at his alma mater, is one of many among the ODU community in mourning. Mullen, who starred at Bayside High in Virginia Beach and ODU before becoming a high school teacher and coach, died Friday at age 50 after a brief illness.
A 6-foot-6 forward during his playing career, Mullen is remembered as a Swiss Army knife on the court with the ability to shoot, slash, pass, rebound and defend against more sizeable opponents.
“He was such a cerebral player,” Jones said Tuesday. “For someone to be as talented as he was that would be willing to do the dirty work, he was a phenomenal teammate. It was all about winning. I would coach 13 Mario Mullens if I could.”
Mullen taught special education and coached basketball at Ocean Lakes High. That came years after he averaged double figures as a highly touted freshman at ODU, earning All-Colonial Athletic Association freshman honors.
Odell Hodge, now an assistant to Jones, was Mullen’s roommate in college. The two remained close friends, even throughout Hodge’s lengthy stints playing and coaching in Europe.
Jones and Hodge visited Mullen in the ICU last week. Both thought he’d pull through, the way he did after a serious car accident briefly derailed Mullen’s playing career.
Instead, they were left in disbelief.
“It shook me to my core,” Hodge said. “I’m not going to see my mate again. It’s devastating. I can’t express that enough. But we’re all trying to be strong for each other.”
Funeral arrangements had not yet been finalized when Jones and Hodge spoke to media members Tuesday at the team’s practice facility.
Jones said he and athletic director Wood Selig had already begun discussing how the Monarchs might honor Mullen this upcoming season, whether it’s with a jersey patch or some other memorial.
When Jones was introduced as ODU’s coach in March, he’d spoken to Mullen the night before. Mullen told him he wouldn’t make it to the next day’s press conference.
When Jones entered the room at Chartway Arena, the first person he saw was his old friend.
More recently, Mullen had begun to get involved in ODU’s program.
Like all of his former teammates, Jones is wrapping his head around the fact that he won’t see Mullen again.
“It’s been rough, but it is what it is,” Jones said. “I hate to say it, but we’re all getting to an age where sometimes things like this — I won’t say are expected — but they’re not surprising. Mario was a little bit different because we had seen him just recently, and he was so excited for us and ready to jump two feet in and support everything we’re building here. So to have such a drastic change with him was very unexpected.”
David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.
