VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Hampton Roads basketball community lost one of its own on Friday. Ocean Lakes boys basketball coach and former Old Dominion Monarch great Mario Mullen passed away at the age of 50.
ODU, his alma mater, was among those posting their condolences for Mullen, saying "We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former men's basketball player Mario Mullen."
He played a big part in the Monarch basketball team that upset Villanova in the 1995 NCAA Tournament.
Current Monarch head coach, Mike Jones, was his teammate that season and said via X (now Twitter), "Love you Brother!!! RIP".
As a high school player, Mullen led the Bayside Marlins to back-to-back state titles in 1990 and 1991. He was also AAA state player of the year as a senior.
