BVA’s Grazzini was a classic late bloomer
Bob Grazzini was a classic late bloomer as a basketball player at Belle Vernon High School.
Grazzini played junior varsity basketball at Bellmar before the merger of Bellmar and arch-rival Rostraver formed Belle Vernon Area in 1965-66. Grazzini was a mainstay of the first Belle Vernon basketball team.
The 6-5 Grazzini was inserted into the Leopards无毛视频� starting lineup by head coach Don Asmonga, and responded by scoring 170 points, including a career-high 20 in Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 73-67 season-ending victory over Monessen.
无毛视频淚 didn无毛视频檛 play varsity until my senior season,无毛视频� Grazzini said. 无毛视频淚 was on the junior varsity team at Bellmar.无毛视频�
Belle Vernon was 3-9 the first season of the merger in Section 5A, and finished with an overall record of 5-16.
无毛视频淐oach Asmonga brought legendary coach Chick Davies as sort of a mentor for one Saturday practice,无毛视频� Grazzini stated. 无毛视频淚 wish I had listened more to him about game planning and setting goals. I concentrated on rebounding an stopped trying to be like John Havlicek.
无毛视频淚 played inside at Belle Vernon, but I always tried to go out on the wing and shoot. I could shoot lights out in practice, but game time I was just too amped up and I couldn无毛视频檛 control my emotions. It took me awhile to realize that.无毛视频�
Grazzini, at 6-foot-5 was a beanpole, he weighed 155 pounds in high school.
无毛视频淢y nickname was tree,无毛视频� Grazzini joked. 无毛视频淚 was very slender.无毛视频�
Grazzini had a great relationship with Asmonga.
无毛视频淚 loved him,无毛视频� Grazzini gushed. 无毛视频淢ainly because he played me. He was smart, he lost his temper a few times, but looking back on it you were trying to combine a team of two mortal enemies in Bellmar and Rostraver. We had some talented guys like Ed Miller. I thought we had a lot of talent.无毛视频�
When Grazzini graduated from Belle Vernon in 1966, he sifted through a few college scholarship offers.
无毛视频淐arnegie Tech无毛视频檚 Moe Fassinger came down and watched the Donora game,无毛视频� Grazzini explained. 无毛视频淭hat was the game where Coach Asmonga benched all the starters. I didn无毛视频檛 see much action in that game.无毛视频�
Fassinger had this evaluation of Grazzini: 无毛视频淗e didn无毛视频檛 look like much of a basketball player. I told Mel Cratsley that he probably wouldn无毛视频檛 be any help to us right away, but he could be in two or three years.无毛视频�
Aside from Carnegie Tech, Grazzini was recruited by W&J and Waynesburg, and he visited both schools. They saw him in a summer camp at Duquesne.
Grazzini无毛视频檚 trip to visit Carnegie Tech was quite memorable.
无毛视频淚 didn无毛视频檛 have a ride and Coach Asmonga lent me his red Chevy convertible.无毛视频� Grazzini recalled. 无毛视频淚 hit standing water on Route 51 on the way home from the visit and did a doughnut, and hit the curb. No damage I thought, but I had lost a hubcap. I don无毛视频檛 know if he ever lent his car out again.无毛视频�
Grazzini started slowly at Carnegie Tech. The Tartans changed their name to Carnegie Mellon during his time in Oakland.
无毛视频淚 was looking at Carnegie Tech as my principal school before they even recruited me.无毛视频� Grazzini stated. 无毛视频淚 was looking at them because of the educational aspects.无毛视频�
Grazzini played as a reserve, and finally broke into the starting lineup in February 1968 against Penn State, and responded with nine points and seven rebounds in a 70-45 loss. He finished that season with 83 points and 60 rebounds.
Fassinger had a different opinion than his first scouting report in high school.
无毛视频淏ob无毛视频檚 certainly come a long way from his high school days,无毛视频� Fassinger said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e high on him and look for him to stay in the starting lineup the next two years.无毛视频�
CMU posted records of 7-14 in 1966-67, 7-14 in 1967-68, 8-13 in 1968-69 and 7-14 in 1969-70.
Grazzini steadily bulked up at CMU to about 250 pounds as a senior for the Tartans.
无毛视频淚 worked at the Army ordinance plant during the summer,无毛视频� Grazzini explained. 无毛视频淚 was a laborer on the paint line and I would take two 25-pound, 105 millimeter projectiles, one in each hand, off of one conveyor, and flip them around. They came to me with the bottom up and I would flip them around so the bottom was down without putting them down, one in each hand. They weighed 22 pounds each.
无毛视频淚 was doing a whole bunch of physical work, but the reason my biology changed is I had a high ankle sprain my sophomore year and got three steroid shots to get the swelling down. That无毛视频檚 when I really started putting on mass.无毛视频�
Grazzini was a solid player who really excelled defensively. Two games against Penn State are prime examples.
无毛视频淚 held Jeff Perrson scoreless as a sophomore and Tom Daley without a field goal as a junior when we were in man-to-man defense,无毛视频� Grazzini recalled. 无毛视频淚 averaged 10.5 points and nine rebounds as a junior, and 12 and 10 as a senior to the best of my recollection. Ray Burdette at Carnegie Tech was my defensive inspiration.无毛视频�
Another highlight was snapping Pitt无毛视频檚 27-game winning streak against CMU with brawl filled 68-64 win on March 2, 1969. CMU hadn无毛视频檛 beaten Pitt since December of 1954. Grazzini tallied four points in the win.
无毛视频淲e were usually a warm-up game for Pitt,无毛视频� Grazzini said. 无毛视频淢y junior year, we beat them on our home floor in the last game of the season. That was a big win.无毛视频�
Grazzini missed a few games at the beginning of his senior season.
无毛视频淚 was married and I worked until the end of September,无毛视频� Grazzini offered. 无毛视频淚 got behind in my studies and had to catch up. I asked to leave the team until finals were over.无毛视频�
Grazzini got a great education and was happy with his experience at CMU.
无毛视频淚 got a great education and became an engineer,无毛视频� Grazzini said. 无毛视频淚 retired in 2014 and I无毛视频檓 out in California now enjoying my grandchildren.无毛视频�
Grazzini worked for General Electric in Erie, General Dynamics in San Diego, Hughes Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona, and ATK in Rocket Center, West Virginia.
无毛视频淚 got in on a lot of design,无毛视频� Grazzini stated. 无毛视频淲e built the first micro processor for an electro diesel locomotive up in Erie. I worked 41 or 42 years as an engineer.无毛视频�
He also did some basketball officiating in high school and college for over 20 years.
Grazzini, 69, has been married twice. He had three daughters with his first wife. He was married to his second wife for 15 years and divorced in 2016.
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Monday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.