Making sense of Merrimack as MAAC opening week looms

PHILADELPHIA — Joe Gallo has always challenged his Merrimack teams in non-conference play, no matter the level.

Now a proven winner in the Division I ranks, Gallo’s approach is no different from when he transformed the Warriors into a nationally ranked Division II outfit. This season, the tuneup for Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play featured a pair of Final Four participants in Auburn and reigning national champion Florida.

But because of the arduous schedule, comprised partly to test his players but also to keep the program afloat with buy game revenue that becomes increasingly precious in the age of NIL, Gallo has had to deploy his roster in unorthodox situations through the non-league slate. Transfer Todd Brogna, who was brought in from former conference rival Stonehill in the offseason, is a prime example having become a de facto center away from his more traditional post position.

“Because of the schedule, we’ve been playing him at the five and we’ve been punching up,” Gallo said Sunday after Merrimack ended a three-game losing streak by defeating La Salle. “Todd Brogna is a really good post player, he was one of the most efficient post players in the country last year. There hasn’t been as much post opportunity. I think we’ve gotta find a way, when the shots aren’t falling, to keep up our defensive intensity but figure out ways to get Todd in the post, put a little more pressure on the rim to where we’re not feast or famine with the three-ball.”

Merrimack (3-6) was able to feast from beyond the arc Sunday, making 10 of its 28 attempts from deep. The proficiency is something that has not consistently revealed itself through the first month of the season, but Gallo praised his squad for weathering the storm and allowing the offense to dictate the strong effort turned in by the Warriors’ 2-3 zone defense.

“I knew we’d come out with some energy,” he admitted. “I think we’re a really good shooting team and the ball’s just not falling right now. We made some shots early and it dipped off a little bit, and I thought in the prior games, our misses affected our defense. We’ve been winning games — we won a Northeast-10 final, like, 42-39, ten years ago against New Haven. Guys have to get more comfortable in these rock fight games. And then when the shots are falling, maybe we win, 75-62.”

“We have way too many long bad stretches. If we get seven or more (instances with) three stops in a row, we win 90 percent of our games. We’ve done it a bunch. The problem is, we’ve had about six reverse turkeys, where people score three times in a row. So it’s been feast or famine instead of, three stops in a row, they score. We’ve had way too many 10-0 runs against our defense, and it deflated us a little bit.”

The biggest strength of the Merrimack zone has been its adaptability. Gallo proudly notes on a yearly basis that his defense is not a one-size-fits-all system, that it can be tailored to his personnel and take on a different look than the previous season. This year, with taller guards in Kevair Kennedy and Tye Dorset anchoring it, the ball pressure is more prevalent and thus, an added facet that makes the scheme harder to solve, as La Salle found out Sunday.

“When Kevair and Tye are up there, it’s a little more size than we’re used to,” Gallo shared. “We’ve always had a smaller guard, so we feel that with their length, they can pressure and get to the next pass. But sometimes, it’s also game-to-game. We knew (La Salle) wanted to attack us down the floor, so we were trying to take away vision so they couldn’t bullet the ball to one of those bigs and run us over.”

The other positive to Sunday’s defensive effort was the underrated presence of KC Ugwuakazi in the middle, something Gallo regrets not exposing more frequently to start the season. Still searching for a rim protector following Bryan Etumnu’s transfer to Wright State, Gallo may have found something in the 6-foot-8 East Texas A&M transfer, a more physical specimen than his predecessor and bigger body to collect the ball in the post. 

“I’ve been telling myself I’ve gotta play him more,” he said of Ugwuakazi, the junior forward. “He earned that. We’ve always had that kind of motor guy in the middle, and with Todd at the five, it’s been a little more offensive. But we’ve gotta get back to that. KC and Dylan Veillette, I thought they both battled in there.”

“Bryan was so long that he would actually block some of those high-post jumpers and short corner jumpers. KC blocks a little more at the rim, but KC’s a little bigger and stronger than (Etumnu). He doesn’t get moved around like Bryan did at times. I’ve just gotta find more minutes, because he makes a difference defensively.”

A much-needed confidence boost comes out of Sunday’s win, perhaps at the most opportune time. Merrimack begins MAAC play this week with two home games against Rider (Thursday) and Fairfield (Sunday). If the Warriors are to start the conference slate 2-0 as they did last year after the Buffalo trip to Canisius and Niagara, they will have been able to sustain valuable goodwill coming from the road that led them there.

“You need this,” Gallo reiterated. “The one thing when you play a tough schedule, is I’m used to it, but when you have ten new guys, I think they’ve adjusted to the basketball just fine. You don’t want residual effects of playing a tough schedule. If we lose this game, you’re sitting on your phone, staring at a screen for seven hours texting people. (Winning) makes that ride home so much more enjoyable, and you roll up to campus with some momentum.”