Galasso Talking With Syracuse, Looking to "Make an Impact"

Well, that escalated quickly.

In just around 24 hours since North Carolina announced that it would grant Nicky Galasso a release to talk with schools about transfer opportunities, Galasso has already set the world on fire with speculation and other kinds of Internet things. This is very exciting.

Galasso spoke with Lacrosse Magazine on Tuesday about the chatter that is flying around in the ether about his decision to transfer from Chapel Hill to a place that isn't Chapel Hill:

[Galasso] told LaxMagazine.com on Tuesday he's keeping his transfer options open, although he intends to land at a school this spring that provides him two things: 1) the ability for his father and four older brothers to see him play more often, and 2) a team where he can have an instant impact.

"I felt that I could make an impact somewhere else, and that I would want to attend another school," Galasso said to start a conversation that covered his decision-making process, thoughts on his North Carolina career and comments on the early recruiting cycle that landed him in Chapel Hill.

* * * * *

Galasso and his father met with North Carolina coach Joe Breschi on Monday night in North Carolina to finalize the release. It allows Galasso to transfer to another program for the spring without having to sit out a year, unless he opts to join current ACC programs Duke, Maryland or Virginia. Also, per the agreement, if Galasso were to transfer to a school on North Carolina's spring 2013 schedule, he would not be able to play this year but would not lose a year of eligibility. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Galasso said he has a list of potential landing spots in mind but didn't want to delve into specifics.

"I have to keep my options open and see what people have to offer, see where I can make an impact, and see where I'll fit in the most," he said.

Galasso notes in the piece that Hofstra -- the place that many thought the attack would end up when the dust settled -- isn't exactly on his short list. (We'll get to that short list in a second.)

There are a few important items in that blockquote that help fill in the blanks from yesterday:

• Galasso has no intention to sit out the 2013 season, which means that he needs to find a place that (1) can fit him in; and (2) he feels comfortable with in just a short period of time. Recruiters: Prepare your nicest fruit baskets for deployment.
• Galasso is being kindly excommunicated from the ACC for the 2013 season (if he chooses to land at any of those schools, which seems unlikely). The restriction on Galasso attending a school on Carolina's schedule is a bit of a tough spot, mostly because the general public hasn't seen Carolina's full schedule yet (it hasn't been formally released).

What does my gut tell me about this? Galasso is definitely ending up at Wagner. That is, of course, after he finishes talking with Syracuse (among, assumedly, others):

Orange coach John Desko confirms through SU spokesman that school is talking to Nicky Galasso about an opportunity to come to Syracuse

— Syracuse Lacrosse (@PSLacrosse) October 10, 2012

The Orange could definitely use the services of Galasso this coming spring. With the departures of Tom Palasek, Collin Donahue, and Tim Desko, Syracuse is going to be looking for some consistency to build around Derek Maltz in-close. A Maltz-Galasso connection could work out quite nicely for John Desko, allowing the team to continue to tinker with JoJo Marasco's role and allow its midfield situation to sort itself out.

For now, though, we wait.