When examining former Merrimack College men’s basketball head coach Bert Hammel’s coaching tree, it becomes apparent quickly the apples doesn’t fall very far.
Three members of the 2024-25 Merrimack men’s basketball coaching staff—head coach Joe Gallo, assistant coach Micky Burtnyk and assistant coach Chris Mohr—played and served as assistants for Hammel, a Merrimack Athletics Hall of Famer, during his 36-year coaching career.
This nearly half-century of Warrior basketball legacy continues this season with a hunt for a conference title and NCAA berth in Merrimack’s first season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
“There is just a different level of pride when you are coaching at the place where you went to school,” said Gallo ’04, now in his ninth season as head coach. “There is a greater responsibility and standard to uphold that I don’t think you get with a staff of coaches from all different schools and programs. Having all of us on staff, there is this unspoken chemistry that we have.”
The bond between Gallo, Burtnyk and Mohr goes beyond having worn the same uniform and working for the same coach. Mohr recruited Burtnyk to North Andover in 2004, and Gallo hired Mohr back to the Warriors bench for a second stint as an assistant in 2023.
“We are happy to carry on Bert’s legacy in whatever way we can,” said Burtnyk ’08, who scored more than 800 points in his playing career at Merrimack. “It was always high intensity in practices and games with Bert and I am sure that rubbed off on all of us in some way.”
Gallo noted that intensity meant that in practices there was always some type of competition: there was a time, a score, a winner and a loser, elements that he continues to incorporate in his practices.
“The day-to-day really hasn’t changed,” Burtnyk added about the difference between Hammel and Gallo. “What has changed is the external aspect. When I was a player, we were taking vans to away games in the (Division II conference) NE-10, and today we are flying to powerhouses like Butler, St. Mary’s and Gonzaga.”
Mohr ’97 jokingly noted he has had a hard time getting out of the Merrimack loop. After playing for Hammel, he was an assistant coach from 1999 to 2005 and then went on to serve as an assistant coach at the University of New Hampshire for 18 years.
“There is a major connection for sure all playing for the same guy,” Mohr said. “We all developed a love for coaching and have never looked at working here as work.”
Of one the Merrimack coaching tree’s newest branches is represented by Merrimack standout Juvaris Hayes ’20, who is now in his second season as an assistant on Gallo’s staff. Hayes played from 2016-20, earning All-American honors at the Division II level, all-conference honors at the Division I level and setting several program records.
“Coming through this system, I’ve seen everything you could see,” said Hayes. “So I try to be that extra hand for the younger guys, to help them be more comfortable in situations and to prosper in the same ways I have.”
One coaching tool Hayes said he adopted from Gallo is celebrating the positive in a performance. As a young player, Hayes would ruminate on the number of turnovers he may have had in a particular game, while Gallo would focus on the number of assists.
Gallo noted that along with his basketball knowledge, Hayes’ recency as a player has made him a valuable addition to the coaching staff.
“There is an automatic respect he commands from the guys because they can go on YouTube and watch his highlights and see he’s the real deal,” said Gallo. “He is really maturing as a coach.”
The men’s basketball coaching staff is rounded out by Jimmy Langhurst, who is in his first season with the Warriors and is a graduate of Robert Morris. When asked if Langhurst ever felt left out because he didn’t graduate from Merrimack, the four Merrimack alumni said no because they all bond over something else: winning.
