Indiana and Purdue have both had recent success in keeping the top talent in the state home for college. The two programs combined to land five Indiana based players in the recruiting class of 2019, with each school’s class exclusively comprised of Hoosier kids.
A potential preview of future players in the historic basketball rivalry took place Sunday morning at Carmel High School.
Mishawaka Marian senior guard Jaden Ivey has already committed to Purdue’s class of 2020, but what about Culver Academies senior guard Trey Galloway?
Will he be part of the series between the in-state programs that dates back to 1901?
Galloway and Ivey were matched up against each other for much of the morning in front of college coaches in a game that was part of The Charlie Hughes Classic.
Galloway spoke with The Daily Hoosier today about his matchup with Ivey and his recruitment.
“I thought it was alright, we didn’t play very well,” Galloway said about the game against Marian. “We didn’t play our best basketball, but good thing it’s the summer because it didn’t mean as much.”
Marian came out on top in the game, and Galloway enjoyed the opportunity to face off against someone as talented as Ivey.
“He’s a really talented player,” Galloway told The Daily Hoosier. “It’s just fun going against competition like that. It helps me out with my defense and stuff like that. So it was really good to get a chance to do that.”
Galloway is listed as a combo guard by most recruiting services, but he took on much of the primary ball handling duties on Sunday morning. We asked him if that is part of the plan going forward as he begins his senior season at Culver.
“Yeah, I’ll probably be doing that a little more during the season since we lost two of our point guards last year as seniors,” Galloway said. “I’ll probably bring it up a little bit more, but we were missing a couple guys today too.”
The standards are high at Culver. Trey’s father Mark Galloway has guided the Eagles to the Class 3A state championship game in back-to-back seasons, including a state title in 2018. The challenge to return will be greater in 2020, with Culver moving up to Class 4A.
We asked Galloway what it will take to make it a three-peat appearance in the State Finals against greater competition.
“Just focus one game at a time,” Galloway said. “We’re not going to look forward to the tournament. We’re just going to look forward to our season and just keep getting better day by day. It’s a long time from the season now. We’ve just got to keep getting better and stick together.”
As far as recruiting goes, Galloway indicated that Indiana moved the needle in connection with his official visit in late May, and the dialogue has been very good since.
“Yeah, we’re still building that relationship, and I feel like it’s a pretty solid relationship and we’ve talked a bunch,” Galloway told The Daily Hoosier. “Me and Coach Ostrom and Coach Miller talk daily. For sure the relationship is good, and I know some of the players well too.”
While rumors are circulating that Galloway is a strong IU lean, there are still plenty of other players actively involved in his recruitment.
“Cincinnati, Indiana, Georgetown, California, Iowa and Michigan State are the schools that I am hearing from the most right now,” Galloway said.
Indiana head coach Archie Miller watched the Galloway and Ivey matchup along with assistant coach Tom Ostrom. Michigan State assistant coach Dane Fife was there as well along with coaches from Cincinnati, Iowa and Georgetown.
Those same schools are the ones that Galloway indicated that he is the most interested in right now.
Wherever he lands for college, Galloway has one primary area that he is focused on improving during his senior year of high school.
“Being more of a consistent shooter,” Galloway said. “Having the confidence to knock it down every time when I catch it, off the dribble and also improving my shot prep. Just being able to knock the shots down when I’m open.”
Galloway shot just 27 percent from three-point distance for the 2018-19 season after hitting 38 and 36 percent, respectively, from long range for his first two years of high school.
A wrist injury during his junior season contributed to the decline in Galloway’s shooting percentages.
“My wrist was definitely hurting during the season but it’s a lot better now,” Galloway said.
According to the Adidas Gauntlet website, the 6-foot-5 guard is averaging 19.9 points on 65.5 percent shooting from the field including 38.8 percent from behind the three point line this spring through seven games. Galloway plays on the Adidas circuit with the Indiana Elite program.
Beyond shooting the ball, Galloway believes that there are certain intangibles that he can bring to a college program on day one.
“I’d say just the toughness that I bring and the basketball savvy and IQ that I have,” Galloway said. “Being able to do multiple things I think will help me step in and contribute in college.”
Those intangibles and his versatility as a player leads Galloway to believe that he could fit into any kind of program culture at the next level.
“I think I could fit into any style,” Galloway said. “I can do a lot of different things. Whatever to help my team win, that’s what I’m looking to do.”
Galloway’s father Mark indicated in a previous interview that Trey intends to have his recruitment wrapped up before his senior season begins, and it could wrap up before the end of the summer.
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