May 12, 2005
Duquesne University head women's basketball coach Dan Durkin announced today the addition of Mike Iuzzolino as assistant coach. The Altoona, PA native and St. Francis graduate will assume his duties at Duquesne beginning Monday, May 16 and will be heavily involved in recruiting, scouting and coaching the guards and post players. Iuzzolino brings with him a wealth of playing experience both at the collegiate and professional level. Drafted in 1991 by the Dallas Mavericks, Iuzzolino had two-year stints in the NBA and CBA and played professionally from 1995 to 2003 in both the Italian Pro and Spanish Pro First Division Basketball Leagues.
As a collegian, the point guard was a member of the Penn State men's basketball team in 1987 & 1988 before transferring to St. Francis where he competed during the 1990 and 1991 seasons. While at St. Francis, Iuzzolino was a two-time All-Northeast Conference pick and was named the NEC's 1991 Player of the Year en route to leading SFU to its first NCAA bid. Over his collegiate career, he recorded 1,493 points, 318 assists and 211 rebounds in 112 games. He was twice named a Division I Academic All-American earning the honor in 1990 and 1991. He graduated from St. Francis in Magna cum Laude in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree with an emphasis on Political Science/Secondary Education.
"When you think of Mike Iuzzolino, a couple things come to mind - fierce competitor, great work ethic, over achiever and tremendous shooter to name a few," say Coach Durkin. "I first met Mike when I was when I was an assistant at Penn State in 1986. `Izzy', as he is called, was a freshman (on the men's team) working out on his own and I just welcomed him to school. After that, I just admired the guy's work ethic. He definitely was a gym-rat and still is to this day. He loves the game with a passion and is dying to pass on his insights from his professional career to our players. He and is wife Dana made a visit to the campus a couple of months ago and felt real comfortable with our program and loved the campus. This along with his extraordinary background made it an easy decision for me to offer Mike the job. It's a great fit for us and his family."
Iuzzolino was selected by the Dallas Mavericks as the 35th overall pick in the second round of the 1991 NBA draft. He competed two seasons with Dallas where he averaged 9.0 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 122 games. He ranked fourth in the NBA in 3-point pct. (.434) during the 1991-92 season. The point guard then went to the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) where he played for the Fort Wayne Fury in 1993-94 and for the Rapid City Thrillers in 1994-95. He continued her profession career overseas playing in Italy and Spain. Iuzzolino spent six seasons with the First Division Italian Pro Basketball League where he helped win the European Korac Cup, was a four-time Italian League All-Star and tabbed as the MVP of the 1997 Italian League All-Star Game. From 2001-2003, he played for the First Division Spanish Pro Basketball League.
Iuzzolino comes to Duquesne from the Summitt Tennis and Fitness Club where he has served as its basketball director. He also runs the Mike Iuzzolino "Practice Like a Pro" camps, which he started in 1991.
The 37-year old Iuzzolino and his wife Dana have two children, Mike (age three) and an infant daughter, Olivia. He replaces two-year assistant Trixie Wolf who resigned in April to pursue personal and other career opportunities.
