Junior walk-on doing his best to help program
Jack Galatio, a junior walk-on guard for the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team, has made no shortage of special memories during his three years. Standing in the middle of some of the brightest lights college basketball has to offer is most definitely one of them.
Although the Bonnies fell 77-62 to the Florida Gators in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64, the Hornell, New York native got to the chance to do something that every college basketball hopeful dreams of doing last March.While it was only one minute, it was a very rewarding one.
“It was a great experience,” said Galatio. “It was everything a college basketball player wants. As a little kid growing up playing basketball, that’s like one of your ultimate goals. To play in the NCAA tournament. To be able to experience that, it was pretty amazing.”
While playing time is scarce for Galatio, he is a fan favorite amongst the students section as the, ‘We want Jack!’ chant echoes through the Reilly Center often during games where the Bonnies are handily winning. Galatio shared his thoughts on the chant.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling,” said Galatio. “Usually when I am going in, it’s a good thing because it means we’re probably up 20 or more points. It’s cool to hear them yelling my name, but at the same time I’m just trying to go in there and do what I’ve got to do to help the team. Obviously we’re winning at that point, but I try to have fun with it. I appreciate all of the people supporting me.”
College basketball was always on Galatio’s radar, but playing here at St. Bonaventure wasn’t always the plan for him. He shows his love for the game by expressing that he just wanted a chance to keep playing after high school.
“This just happened to be the school that fit best for me academically at the time,” said Galatio. “I knew I wanted to continue to play. I just decided to give it a shot, and the worst thing they [the coaches] could’ve told me was no. I went for it and gave everything I could. I trained all summer to get this opportunity, and I am thankful to be here.”
Galatio talked about the many actions that were taken in order to prepare for his run at making the team coming in to his freshman year.
“There was a lot of paperwork obviously. But the physical things like getting in shape, I was asking coaches and players that I knew involved with college basketball and they told me it takes a lot of work,” said Galatio. “I was conditioning, lifting and getting in the gym every day the summer before. And when I got here the first few weeks of school, I tried to continue to do that. It’s a lot of mental preparation also. It’s a lot of pressure to be able to go out there and perform.”
Galatio also explained what it was like to find out that he had made the team, and the message that head coach Mark Schmidt relayed to him during a meeting in his office prior to Galatio’s freshman season.
“It was pretty awesome. I got an email from Matt Pappano [director of basketball operations] and he told me to come up to his office to speak with Coach Schmidt. I was kind of nervous and didn’t really know what he was going to say. They told me that they were going to give me a shot on the team.”
Galatio discussed Schmidt’s expectations for him and what he needed to do to contribute to the team.
“I didn’t know what to say. I was pretty excited, but nervous at the same time,” said Galatio. He told me that it is a lot of hard work and that I have to be able to get it done in the classroom and at practice. He told me that I had to have a good attitude and to pick guys up.”
Galatio expressed that he hopes to continue to work hard on and off the court in his final two seasons at Bonaventure. While he accepts he doesn’t get to play much, Galatio hopes to maintain his positive impact on the team.
“I try and do whatever I can to help the team,” said the soft-spoken Galatio. “Some days I’ll be practicing a lot and some days I am not practicing very much. Obviously I am not playing in games, but I do what I can on and off the court to benefit the team. I think all of my teammates and coaches know that I will do whatever I can to help us have a successful year. I want to win as many games as we can and get back to the NCAA tournament.”
By Mike Hogan, Sports Assignment Editor
hoganm17@bonaventure.edu
