Episode 128: Joe Gallo, 2-3 Zone and Tactical Periodization

Artwork for podcast The Basketball Podcast

Episode 128 • 9th September 2020 • The Basketball Podcast • Chris Oliver

Guest: Joe Gallo, Merrimack College Head Coach

In this week’s basketball coaching conversation, Merrimack College head coach Joe Gallo joins the Basketball Podcast to discuss the 2-3 zone they have used to great success, and tactical periodization as it applies to basketball coaching. After leading Merrimack to a Northeast Conference regular-season title in 2020, its first season in Division I, Gallo was named conference coach of the year.

Gallo began his coaching career in 2005 as an assistant at Merrimack a year after he was a player for the Warriors. In 2010, Gallo was hired as an assistant under head coach Paul Cormier at Dartmouth. He was hired as an assistant under Andrew Toole at Robert Morris 2012. In 2016, Gallo was hired as head coach at his alma mater, Merrimack Gallo navigated Merrimack College to the best ever inaugural season in NCAA D1 basketball history.

No stranger to success, Gallo helped Merrimack become an NCAA D2 powerhouse. He completed a run of three NCAA Tournament appearances in three years in 2018-19 to put a bow on the program's Division II history. He also snapped a 19-year conference championship drought when he guided the program to the 2018-19 Northeast-10 Conference Championship. Gallo boasts a 61-34 (.642) career record, the most wins ever for a head coach over their first three seasons.

Breakdown

1:00 - Make Chaos

3:00 - Free Zone

7:00 - Techniques and Concepts that Applies in the Zone

9:00 - Recovery vs Punctures

11:00 - Closeouts

12:00 - High Posts and Short Corners

17:00 - Dribble Penetration

20:00 - Philosophy about Limiting Threes

22:00 - Shooting vs Zone

24:30 - Making Better Decisions

27:30 - Man to Man Defense