Indiana University Athletics
Galloway’s Goal is Clear – Make Winning Plays
10/19/2023 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It starts with maximum impact. Trey Galloway reflects on that, focuses on that, as Indiana begins what could be the senior guard's final college basketball adventure.
Take, for instance, leadership.
"The biggest thing is lead and be an influence on the court when we're playing in the big games," Galloway says.
There will be lots of big games this season, including non-conference showdowns with top-ranked Kansas and defending national champion Connecticut, as well as Big Ten battles with the likes of No. 3 Purdue, No. 4 Michigan State, and No. 25 Illinois.
The regular season starts Nov. 7 against Florida Gulf Coast following exhibitions with the University of Indianapolis (Oct. 29) and Marian University (Nov. 3).
First, though, there is Friday night's annual Hoosier Hysteria at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Galloway will have a huge role as the Hoosiers resume their quest for their first Big Ten title since 2016, which is what you'd expect from a four-year veteran with 77 career games and 1,790 career minutes.
Last season, he set career highs in scoring (6.7 points), rebounding (3.0) and minutes (27.5). He had 66 assists against 24 turnovers.
"Just talking and constantly doing things to help my teammates," he says about his top priorities. "Making winning plays, the right plays, like I've always done. Those are things I can do to help our team win."
Galloway has always sacrificed his body for the Cream 'n Crimson cause (no Hoosier attacks the basket better), and has the bruises and injuries to prove it. He's a full-throttle player coach Mike Woodson will use in a variety of ways.
The 6-5 Galloway is all in.
"Whatever Coach needs me to do, just be ready to be in that position. I can be thrown into a lot of positions and do them, so I think just being ready for whatever Coach throws at me."
That includes sharing team captain duties with senior guard Xavier Johnson, which carries significant honor and responsibility. Woodson says he will be hard on them as Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight was hard on him when he was named a team captain.
Galloway is fine with that.
"It's a blessing knowing all the great players and great names that have come through here and been captains," he says. "It comes with a big responsibility for me to lock in and do the right things to help us win."
Being a coach's son helps. Galloway's father, Mark, coached him at Culver Academies, and the pair won a state of Indiana Class 3A state title together in 2018.
"I learned a lot from my dad from a leadership standpoint because I was with him so much. I think trusting my instincts and trusting myself because I've been in this position for a while. I've been here four years, so I know what I'm talking about. It's going to be important for me to be vocal and help those younger guys."
That includes helping them learn the nuances of college basketball and a Woodson-coached team. Specifically, it means showing freshmen Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton what's required of Big Ten guards.
"They've done a great job of listening," Galloway says. "The younger guys have bought into our system. It's not an easy system to learn, especially defensively.
"One thing that we're focused on is defense. That's our identity. Having them come every day prepared, ready to learn, is important. We're going to make mistakes. All of us are. Part of it is coming together and learning the system. It'll be good to have them get it."
While Johnson is the main point guard, Galloway will share that responsibility, just as he did last season, when Johnson was injured and Jalen Hood-Schifino assumed the primary job.
"Losing X was tough," Galloway says. "It was an adjustment for all of us, even for me because I was the secondary ball handler. It was challenging, but I learned a lot.
"(Point guard) is not an easy position. It's hard to run the team. A lot of credit to X and Jalen last year because they did a great job of doing that.
"Having that experience is good, to handle the ball and make plays and do certain things. It was good."
Galloway evolved from a 3-point-shooting liability in his first two seasons (shooting 18% as a freshman and 21.4% as a sophomore) to a perimeter beast last season (46.2% by making 30-of-65 attempts).
How much better can he get this season? A summer of shooting was designed to prepare him for a heavier three-point load.
Johnson calls Galloway a "great shooter." Woodson has praised Galloway's basketball sense and knack for playing hard, which sometimes reached such frenzied levels that former teammate Trayce Jackson-Davis called him a "crazy man."
All the Hoosiers have a shooting responsibility. Woodson wants a versatile offense in which everyone is a perimeter threat. That would spread the floor and expose defenses to pick-and-roll and attack-the-basket options.
They spent the summer and fall working on that, among other things.
"It's shooting with confidence," Galloway says. "We've got a lot of guys that can make shots. It's a mindset. It's the repetition. Getting a lot of reps.
"We've done a great job this off-season of holding guys accountable and getting guys in the gym and getting a lot of shots up. That was really big for our off-season. It's going to carry over into the season. It's going to be huge for us to stick with it and shoot with confidence."
With heralded newcomers such as 7-foot Oregon transfer Kel'el Ware, 6-8 Miami of Florida transfer Anthony Walker, 6-10 Ball State transfer Payton Sparks, 6-8 freshman Mackenzie Mgbako, Newton, and Cupps joining veterans Galloway, Johnson, Malik Reneau, Kaleb Banks, and CJ Gunn, there's a lot to get excited about.
For those wondering which Hoosier might have a break-through season, Galloway suggests Gunn. The 6-6 sophomore guard struggled to adjust to the college game as a freshman (1.9 points, just 1-for-13 on 3-pointers) but has shown dramatic improvement.
"We battle each other in practice every day," Galloway says. "It's fun to see. He makes a lot of tough shots. He's really been hungry.
"It's not just him. A lot of guys are hungry and want to prove something."
While the Hoosiers didn't make the AP preseason top-25, there will be plenty of opportunities to make a move.
Elite success is always the top Cream 'n Crimson priority, and if players forget, they can look up at Assembly Hall's five championship banners, and realize that the last one came in 1987, well before any player was born.
"It's definitely motivation," Galloway says. "You see that every day in practice. It's what you're trying to reach. We've got to fight and believe because if you don't believe, it's not going to happen."
Woodson pushes belief and urgency. He didn't return to coach IU to finish as Big Ten and national afterthoughts. He seeks to improve on last season's 23-12 record, 12-8 in the Big Ten.
"He's all about winning," Galloway says. "That's been the thing since Day One when he got here. He wants to win and so do we. It's got to be everybody coming together and doing the right things every day and bringing everybody along so we can be successful and win.
"We want to keep building because we're going to need it. To win, we all have to come together and become close."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It starts with maximum impact. Trey Galloway reflects on that, focuses on that, as Indiana begins what could be the senior guard's final college basketball adventure.
Take, for instance, leadership.
"The biggest thing is lead and be an influence on the court when we're playing in the big games," Galloway says.
There will be lots of big games this season, including non-conference showdowns with top-ranked Kansas and defending national champion Connecticut, as well as Big Ten battles with the likes of No. 3 Purdue, No. 4 Michigan State, and No. 25 Illinois.
The regular season starts Nov. 7 against Florida Gulf Coast following exhibitions with the University of Indianapolis (Oct. 29) and Marian University (Nov. 3).
First, though, there is Friday night's annual Hoosier Hysteria at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Galloway will have a huge role as the Hoosiers resume their quest for their first Big Ten title since 2016, which is what you'd expect from a four-year veteran with 77 career games and 1,790 career minutes.
Last season, he set career highs in scoring (6.7 points), rebounding (3.0) and minutes (27.5). He had 66 assists against 24 turnovers.
"Just talking and constantly doing things to help my teammates," he says about his top priorities. "Making winning plays, the right plays, like I've always done. Those are things I can do to help our team win."
Galloway has always sacrificed his body for the Cream 'n Crimson cause (no Hoosier attacks the basket better), and has the bruises and injuries to prove it. He's a full-throttle player coach Mike Woodson will use in a variety of ways.
The 6-5 Galloway is all in.
"Whatever Coach needs me to do, just be ready to be in that position. I can be thrown into a lot of positions and do them, so I think just being ready for whatever Coach throws at me."
That includes sharing team captain duties with senior guard Xavier Johnson, which carries significant honor and responsibility. Woodson says he will be hard on them as Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight was hard on him when he was named a team captain.
Galloway is fine with that.
"It's a blessing knowing all the great players and great names that have come through here and been captains," he says. "It comes with a big responsibility for me to lock in and do the right things to help us win."
Being a coach's son helps. Galloway's father, Mark, coached him at Culver Academies, and the pair won a state of Indiana Class 3A state title together in 2018.
"I learned a lot from my dad from a leadership standpoint because I was with him so much. I think trusting my instincts and trusting myself because I've been in this position for a while. I've been here four years, so I know what I'm talking about. It's going to be important for me to be vocal and help those younger guys."
That includes helping them learn the nuances of college basketball and a Woodson-coached team. Specifically, it means showing freshmen Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton what's required of Big Ten guards.
"They've done a great job of listening," Galloway says. "The younger guys have bought into our system. It's not an easy system to learn, especially defensively.
"One thing that we're focused on is defense. That's our identity. Having them come every day prepared, ready to learn, is important. We're going to make mistakes. All of us are. Part of it is coming together and learning the system. It'll be good to have them get it."
While Johnson is the main point guard, Galloway will share that responsibility, just as he did last season, when Johnson was injured and Jalen Hood-Schifino assumed the primary job.
"Losing X was tough," Galloway says. "It was an adjustment for all of us, even for me because I was the secondary ball handler. It was challenging, but I learned a lot.
"(Point guard) is not an easy position. It's hard to run the team. A lot of credit to X and Jalen last year because they did a great job of doing that.
"Having that experience is good, to handle the ball and make plays and do certain things. It was good."
Galloway evolved from a 3-point-shooting liability in his first two seasons (shooting 18% as a freshman and 21.4% as a sophomore) to a perimeter beast last season (46.2% by making 30-of-65 attempts).
How much better can he get this season? A summer of shooting was designed to prepare him for a heavier three-point load.
Johnson calls Galloway a "great shooter." Woodson has praised Galloway's basketball sense and knack for playing hard, which sometimes reached such frenzied levels that former teammate Trayce Jackson-Davis called him a "crazy man."
All the Hoosiers have a shooting responsibility. Woodson wants a versatile offense in which everyone is a perimeter threat. That would spread the floor and expose defenses to pick-and-roll and attack-the-basket options.
They spent the summer and fall working on that, among other things.
"It's shooting with confidence," Galloway says. "We've got a lot of guys that can make shots. It's a mindset. It's the repetition. Getting a lot of reps.
"We've done a great job this off-season of holding guys accountable and getting guys in the gym and getting a lot of shots up. That was really big for our off-season. It's going to carry over into the season. It's going to be huge for us to stick with it and shoot with confidence."
With heralded newcomers such as 7-foot Oregon transfer Kel'el Ware, 6-8 Miami of Florida transfer Anthony Walker, 6-10 Ball State transfer Payton Sparks, 6-8 freshman Mackenzie Mgbako, Newton, and Cupps joining veterans Galloway, Johnson, Malik Reneau, Kaleb Banks, and CJ Gunn, there's a lot to get excited about.
For those wondering which Hoosier might have a break-through season, Galloway suggests Gunn. The 6-6 sophomore guard struggled to adjust to the college game as a freshman (1.9 points, just 1-for-13 on 3-pointers) but has shown dramatic improvement.
"We battle each other in practice every day," Galloway says. "It's fun to see. He makes a lot of tough shots. He's really been hungry.
"It's not just him. A lot of guys are hungry and want to prove something."
While the Hoosiers didn't make the AP preseason top-25, there will be plenty of opportunities to make a move.
Elite success is always the top Cream 'n Crimson priority, and if players forget, they can look up at Assembly Hall's five championship banners, and realize that the last one came in 1987, well before any player was born.
"It's definitely motivation," Galloway says. "You see that every day in practice. It's what you're trying to reach. We've got to fight and believe because if you don't believe, it's not going to happen."
Woodson pushes belief and urgency. He didn't return to coach IU to finish as Big Ten and national afterthoughts. He seeks to improve on last season's 23-12 record, 12-8 in the Big Ten.
"He's all about winning," Galloway says. "That's been the thing since Day One when he got here. He wants to win and so do we. It's got to be everybody coming together and doing the right things every day and bringing everybody along so we can be successful and win.
"We want to keep building because we're going to need it. To win, we all have to come together and become close."
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