Last Saturday Hartford had a 14-PT win over UMass-Lowell to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Hawks have been playing D-1 basketball for almost 4 decades and after winning 4 America East tourney games during a 15-day span they clinched the 1st NCAA tourney appearance in school history. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Coach John Gallagher about leading the #Neighborhood team and making the NCAA tourney.
You played basketball at St. Joseph’s under Coach Phil Martelli: how good a player were you back in the day, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from Martelli? I was a good high school player in the Philadelphia Catholic League but not a good college player. I learned so many things from Phil but the #1 thing was the unconditional love for his players and the family he built.
You made it to the Sweet 16 in 1997 before losing to eventual national runner-up Kentucky: what are your memories of playing in the tourney, and could you have ever imagined that then-Wildcats coach Rick Pitino would still be coaching in the NCAA tourney almost a quarter-century later? We were the #4-seed and BC was the #5-seed. It was a huge game in Salt Lake City with Rashid Bey (23 PTS) vs. Scoonie Penn (10 PTS) and went into OT. I will never forget the euphoria in the locker room afterward. I just saw Coach Pitino in the hallway tonight: he was very good friends with my high school coach. He is 1 of the best ever: say whatever you want but nobody loves the game like he does. Iona will be in the tourney a lot in the years ahead because he is that good and I have the utmost respect for him.
You spent 2 years as an assistant to Coach Glen Miller at Penn: what was your reaction when you heard that the Ivy League would not be playing any basketball this year? 2 of my best friends in the world are current Penn coach Steve Donahue/former Penn assistant coach Mike Martin. My stance is that the Ivy League has its principles and does not deviate from them so you have to respect it. The rest of us did the right thing for our schools and found a way to play, but mental health-wise I think it affects kids more to NOT play. I have 4 kids of my own and understand being in a community: when you are part of the team you are part of something bigger than yourself, but when you take away that commitment it throws some people off. There is a life rhythm that is taken away from you, which is what concerns me.
What is it like to be a college basketball coach during a pandemic? We did not sign up for this but we still have to embrace everything that we are going through. You cannot run away from the daily protocols and you have to be a part of all the processes to playing. There is so much to do just to get to practice: it is a lifestyle commitment where you cannot go to a restaurant or a party so you have to engage with people in a different way.
Last Saturday in the America East tourney title game you had a 14-PT win over UMass-Lowell: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was like a relief. Coach Fran O’Hanlon had a great line: “To be a coach you have to lie down with pain”…but he did not say that it would be 11 years of pain! It is a great feeling.
How big a deal is it for the school to get its 1st NCAA tourney appearance ever? Words cannot describe it. We have spent 36 years in D-1 so it is monstrous. The school’s original coach (Jack Phelan) died last summer but he is a part of this. For our former players/current donors/etc., this is for them: it is truly for the #Neighborhood.
You played a pair of NCAA tourney teams this year in Connecticut/Villanova: which 1 of them impressed you the most? I think that Villanova is a national championship contender with a healthy Collin Gillespie…but without him it is hard. I have so much respect for Coach Jay Wright’s culture. Danny Hurley could be a surprise Final 4 team: I think they will be the best team in the Big East next year. He has elevated that program in such a short time because he is elite at a LOT of things. As a guy who lives in the same state, when UConn is good it is good for everyone in the state and he will have a perennial top-5 program. I think they will win a national title within the next 5 years, and if they make the Final 4 this year it would not shock me at all.
Your team is #9 in the nation with 28.7 3P% allowed: what is the key to protecting the 3-PT line, and what impact does your 1-3-1 defense have on that stat? Last year we were #1 in the country. We have the best defensive guard in the nation: Stony Brook coach Geno Ford was being interviewed recently and he said, “You may laugh at me, but Traci Carter is the best defender in the country.” He is a transfer from Marquette/La Salle and is a big reason why we can defend the 3-PT line. We have schemed it that way but I will not lie to you: the 1-3-1 will be huge for us this week, especially when playing in a dome.
Your sisters Ann/Joan each played D-1 basketball: who is the best athlete in the family? Definitely me! Joanie was a 3-PT specialist and Annie was 1 of the best PGs in La Salle history. My aunt (Sister Kate Touey) is actually the best athlete in our family: she is now a nun. Loyola-Chicago coach Porter Moser is 1 of my best friends: he may have Sister Jean…but I have Sister Kate!
What do you think about being a #16-seed, and what do you know about Baylor? It is our # but I am still shocked at how people view the America East Conference. Take a high-major team to Vermont any time during the last 6 years: I do not care who you are but you are not winning that game. In the last 10 years the winningest program in New England is not BC or UConn: it is Vermont. Look at UMBC coach Ryan Odom when he upset Virginia a few years ago. The top-4 teams in our league can go anywhere/anytime and win, and people need to know that. We have won 4 high-major games in a row: nobody will play Vermont but people need to see how much we have all improved. You “got the Irish up” in me, and right before St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow! The numbers just cannot be right: UMBC should not have been a 16-seed in the 2018 NCAA tourney, which is why Virginia lost to the Retrievers. Go read John Feinstein’s stuff: he says the league does not get the credit it deserves. Our commissioner (Amy Huchthausen) has done a great job: we were the 1st league to appear on ESPN3 because she had the vision. The game we won on Saturday was a high-level game and I want to build this team into a mid-major power.