CT native Gallo working for Huskies as a grad assistant
STORRS — Jake Gallo sits in relative anonymity near the end of the UConn women’s basketball team’s bench.
A large majority of fans who will make their way to Gampel Pavilion Monday for the thirdseeded Huskies’ NCAA Tournament secondround game with No. 6 Syracuse couldn’t tell you who the graduate assistant coach from Coventry was without a program. Oh, wait. He’s not listed in the game program.
But there are six coaches, 14 players, and other staff associated with the program that appreciate all Gallo has done, first as a four-year team manager and now as a first-year graduate assistant.
“Jake is awesome,” UConn All-American Paige Bueckers said. “He’s done a whole lot for this program, a whole lot for me. Especially last year when I was coming back from my injury he spent extra time in the gym with me, extra workouts. We’d play a lot against each other in pick-up games. I always give him the business and he gives it back to me, not on the court but he talks a lot of game. He’s super-fun to be around, a great guy for the program.”
Gallo grew up in Coventry as a UConn fan and went to high school at Sport and Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford. He played basketball and was a member of the Tigers’ 2017 North Central Connecticut Conference tournament championship team and also golf at SMSA. He was a student ambassador and member of the National Honor Society. As a senior in 2019, he represented the school as a CIAC Scholar-Athlete.
When he enrolled at UConn, he inquired about becoming a manager for the women’s team and got a position.
“I grew into it and worked hard every day,” Gallo said. “It’s humbling, but exciting. Every day you come to work and the goal is to make players better. You take a lot of pride in helping them become the best versions of themselves on and off the court. So you put your own pride aside and understand that you’re doing something and working for something bigger than yourself. I’ve grown to really enjoy that feeling. It’s been awesome.
“You have to be a hard worker and put in a lot of hours. I would describe it as lucky and a great opportunity. I’ve been fortunate to make these connections and work with some of the most amazing coaches in basketball.”
As he worked towards his bachelor’s degree in sports management and gained experience, his urge to remain in the game grew stronger.
When did he decide that avenue would be in coaching? “Once I realized I wasn’t good enough to play,” Gallo said with a laugh. “It’s the same for a lot of people. Growing up I always thought was I smart when I came to the game but just not athletic enough. That was my first passion. But once I became a manager I realized I enjoyed helping the players get better on a day-to-day basis. That fueled my fire to continue to pursue it.”
So when he received his bachelor’s degree in May and got ready to begin work on his masters degree (also in sports management), he told the staff that if the opportunity to be a graduate assistant was there and that he’d be interested.
The interest proved to be mutual.
“He’s reliable,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “You can count on him. He shows up when he’s supposed to show up and when he’s not supposed to show up. He does things that you ask him to do with no complaints. He’s just a really, really good person who has a lot of passion for what we do and he believes in us. We have been very, very fortunate over the years to have a lot of great guys like that who then go on to do a lot of great things. It’s a really selfless job. You really have to give up yourself every single day.
“You ask them what their interest level is and what they are thinking about future-wise. Then you try to put them in those situations. You want to give them more and more and more every day that they are here. Some can’t handle certain aspects and some can. So you try to steer certain people towards the direction they want to go in.”
Gallo describes his job and his role with the program as doing anything that’s necessary.
“No day looks like the previous day,” Gallo said. “Every day is different. I oversee our practice players, who are the scout team and help the women get better every day through workouts and practices. That’s my main focus, making sure they’re all set grade-wise, that they’re here every day ready to work. Outside of that it’s all of the little things that the coaches might need.”
Or anything that the players might need. If that’s some extra work in the gym or a one-on-one game or scrimmage, he’s three.
Freshman KK Arnold’s scouting report on Gallo the player: A decent shooter, attacks the basket hard, a pass-first kind of guard.
And more.
“Jake is a good, good friend and he’ll stay my friend for the rest of my life,” UConn senior Nika Mühl said. “Jake and I go at it every day whether it’s on the court or off the court. We chirp at each other and make fun of each other. It’s always fun with him. To see him grow from freshman to now, he’s a great leader, a great communicator, and amazing in organization. He’s someone that you can count on every single time. He does so much for me, so much for all of us.”
Bueckers agrees and that goes for Gallo’s fellow graduate assistant, Niya Beverley, and the team managers.
“We appreciate what they do so much,” Bueckers said. “It’s unfortunate that they don’t get the credit they deserve and people only see what happens and what they do on the court. But what we do isn’t possible without them and what they do and all the sacrifices they make. We’re extremely grateful for them.”
Gallo will finish work on his masters in May of 2025. When asked what he wants to be doing in five years, he replied he hopes to be an assistant coach somewhere.
One thing he’ll have going for him is that at UConn he’s learning from the best.
“My goal and my passion is in coaching so I pick up things from them every single day,” Gallo said. “I watch the work they put in, always the first ones in the building in the morning. So I try to pick up that habit. From Coach Auriemma and all of them, I pick up just the ins and outs of basketball. I’ve become a better player. I’ve learned so much about the game just from consuming their thoughts and knowledge, how they interact with each other and with the game and players.
“From Coach Auriemma, I’ve learned to be authentic. Coach Auriemma is a very authentic person, an authentic leader. Players and staff and myself appreciate that from him. He’s never trying to be someone that he’s not. So I have learned that the most important thing is if I want to succeed is to be authentic.”
If UConn (30-5) defeats Syracuse to reach its NCAA record 30th consecutive Sweet 16, it would travel to Portland, Ore., to take on No. 7 Duke on Saturday. The regional final is set for April 1 with that winner advancing to the Final Four in Cleveland
For Gallo, it’s already been quite a ride.
“Jake is into a lot of different things,” Auriemma said. “I don’t know where we would be without people like him.”