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鈥� starting lineup by head coach Don Asmonga, and responded by scoring 170 points, including a career-high 20 in Belle Vernon鈥檚 73-67 season-ending victory over Monessen.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 play varsity until my senior season,鈥� Grazzini said. 鈥淚 was on the junior varsity team at Bellmar.鈥�
Belle Vernon was 3-9 the first season of the merger in Section 5A, and finished with an overall record of 5-16.
鈥淐oach Asmonga brought legendary coach Chick Davies as sort of a mentor for one Saturday practice,鈥� Grazzini stated. 鈥淚 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.
鈥淚 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鈥檛 control my emotions. It took me awhile to realize that.鈥�
Grazzini, at 6-foot-5 was a beanpole, he weighed 155 pounds in high school.
鈥淢y nickname was tree,鈥� Grazzini joked. 鈥淚 was very slender.鈥�
Grazzini had a great relationship with Asmonga.
鈥淚 loved him,鈥� Grazzini gushed. 鈥淢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.鈥�
When Grazzini graduated from Belle Vernon in 1966, he sifted through a few college scholarship offers.
鈥淐arnegie Tech鈥檚 Moe Fassinger came down and watched the Donora game,鈥� Grazzini explained. 鈥淭hat was the game where Coach Asmonga benched all the starters. I didn鈥檛 see much action in that game.鈥�
Fassinger had this evaluation of Grazzini: 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 look like much of a basketball player. I told Mel Cratsley that he probably wouldn鈥檛 be any help to us right away, but he could be in two or three years.鈥�
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鈥檚 trip to visit Carnegie Tech was quite memorable.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have a ride and Coach Asmonga lent me his red Chevy convertible.鈥� Grazzini recalled. 鈥淚 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鈥檛 know if he ever lent his car out again.鈥�
Grazzini started slowly at Carnegie Tech. The Tartans changed their name to Carnegie Mellon during his time in Oakland.
鈥淚 was looking at Carnegie Tech as my principal school before they even recruited me.鈥� Grazzini stated. 鈥淚 was looking at them because of the educational aspects.鈥�
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.
鈥淏ob鈥檚 certainly come a long way from his high school days,鈥� Fassinger said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e high on him and look for him to stay in the starting lineup the next two years.鈥�
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.
鈥淚 worked at the Army ordinance plant during the summer,鈥� Grazzini explained. 鈥淚 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.
鈥淚 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鈥檚 when I really started putting on mass.鈥�
Grazzini was a solid player who really excelled defensively. Two games against Penn State are prime examples.
鈥淚 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,鈥� Grazzini recalled. 鈥淚 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.鈥�
Another highlight was snapping Pitt鈥檚 27-game winning streak against CMU with brawl filled 68-64 win on March 2, 1969. CMU hadn鈥檛 beaten Pitt since December of 1954. Grazzini tallied four points in the win.
鈥淲e were usually a warm-up game for Pitt,鈥� Grazzini said. 鈥淢y junior year, we beat them on our home floor in the last game of the season. That was a big win.鈥�
Grazzini missed a few games at the beginning of his senior season.
鈥淚 was married and I worked until the end of September,鈥� Grazzini offered. 鈥淚 got behind in my studies and had to catch up. I asked to leave the team until finals were over.鈥�
Grazzini got a great education and was happy with his experience at CMU.
鈥淚 got a great education and became an engineer,鈥� Grazzini said. 鈥淚 retired in 2014 and I鈥檓 out in California now enjoying my grandchildren.鈥�
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.
鈥淚 got in on a lot of design,鈥� Grazzini stated. 鈥淲e built the first micro processor for an electro diesel locomotive up in Erie. I worked 41 or 42 years as an engineer.鈥�
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鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Monday editions of the 缅北禁地. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.