NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The local sports community continues to mourn the loss of Mario Mullen.
The former Old Dominion basketball standout who was the VHSL Group AAA player of the year at Bayside High School in Virginia Beach died Friday night after a sudden medical emergency.
Mullen played in 108 games for ODU and was instrumental in the Monarchs triple overtime win over Villanova in the 1995 NCAA Tournament.
“He was the catalyst to help us beat Villanova,” said former teammate and current ODU assistant coach Odell Hodge.
Mullen scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds in that win over the Wildcats.
After his freshman season at ODU, Mullen was involved in a serious car accident and suffered a back injury. He was able to work himself back on to the court.
Current ODU head coach Mike Jones was a teammate of Mullen’s in the mid 1990s.
“We lost a treasure,” Jones said. “He’s somebody that we are going to make sure that we do something for his legacy and for people to never forget who he was and how impactful he was to Old Dominion men’s basketball.
