Big man on campus: How Joe Gallo has kept Merrimack basketball on national radar

NORTH ANDOVER — Ask anyone who’s spent a night scouting Merrimack College basketball and you’ll hear the same thing: Head coach Joe Gallo’s hectic zone defense — #MakeChaos — is the kind that ruins a perfectly good practice. Opposing teams spend hours scheming, burning up whiteboards, only to find themselves clawing for decent shots, especially from deep.

That’s Gallo’s calling card. It’s not the kind of defense you steal on YouTube. He borrowed it from his days as an assistant at Robert Morris, but with a few, aggressive tweaks he’s made it Merrimack’s trademark. Every opponent knows it’s coming, and almost none of them are truly ready for it.

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Merrimack bench — Merrimack College coach Joey Gallo yells for his players to get back on defense in the NEC Tournament semifinal win, 61-51, over Le Moyne at Lawler Arena on Saturday.

Merrimack College photo

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merrimack 2 — Merrimack College men’s basketball coach Joe Gallo cuts down the net after the Warriors won the NEC Tournament title on Tuesday.

Jim Stankiewicz photo

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By Bill Burt | bburt@eagletribune.com

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