Trey Galloway has seen it all over five seasons at Indiana.
That’s what happens when you play in more games than anyone in IU basketball history, a mark he’ll achieve next week if all goes well. And that’s something you can never really take for granted with the guy Mike Woodson has called “crazy man.”
Much of what Galloway has been through since arriving in Bloomington in 2020 hasn’t been a joy ride.
There have been numerous injuries, shooting slumps, losing streaks, boos, disappointing seasons, and now two coaching changes.
But the 6-foot-5 guard has persevered, and Galloway is in the midst of one of the best two-game stretches of his career (15.5 points, 9 assists per game). And it couldn’t have come at a better time.
After a 15 point, nine assist performance by Galloway that included a 4-of-5 effort from three Wednesday against Penn State, Nittany Lions head coach Mike Rhoades heaped on the praise.
“When you have Galloway out there, I don’t know if he’s the best player in the league, but I think he is the most valuable player,” Rhoades said. “Dude is a winner. He is out there, and he is leading the charge for Indiana.”
It’s been a bumpy ride for the Culver, Ind. product. And that kind of positive feedback has often been hard to come by, even from IU circles.
He played off the ball his first three years and struggled to make perimeter shots early on. Galloway was 12-of-61 from three over his first two seasons, before breaking out as junior and shooting 46.2% from deep. Indiana asked a lot of Galloway in year four, but on higher volume his shooting numbers plummeted, and his confidence seemed to fade as well.
But last season also brought new opportunities. Galloway stepped into the primary ball handler role when Xavier Johnson went down with injuries, and he has emerged as one of the program’s best all-time facilitators.
There’s no doubt that when Galloway is dialed in on finding his teammates, IU is better. Eight times he has had eight assists or more in a game, all over the last two seasons, and the Hoosiers are 7-1 in those contests.
Galloway ranks second to Yogi Ferrell (137) in career games played (136) on the all-time Indiana leaderboard. He is eighth in career assists (407), and 59th in career points scored (965). He is one of two active Big Ten players along with Purdue’s Braden Smith to have collected 950 points, 400 assists, 300 rebounds, and 100 steals in their careers.
Skeptics will say sure, Galloway has done that in five seasons, and Smith in three. No one is saying they are the same player, but their career minutes are close. Smith has played 3,411 and Galloway 3,598. It’s the same when you compare Galloway’s minutes to many of the four-year Indiana players he is passing on the scoring and assist charts.
Galloway’s ever-changing role and too many to count injuries have meant he’s been in a constant battle for consistency, continuity, and ultimately, minutes. He has played in 136 games, but only started 82. That includes 16 starts in 28 games this year as it seems his status wavered back-and-forth from the problem to the solution.
His current head coach Mike Woodson, Galloway’s second IU head coach, acknowledged Wednesday the choppy ride his fifth-year guard has been on.
“He’s had a tough go at it. You guys (media) gave him a hard time at one time. There’s a lot of things. But I never stopped believing in Trey,” Woodson said. “Trey’s been with me the longest. He’s put up with a lot of shit from me. And I trust him. He does a lot of good things on the floor. Yeah, he makes mistakes. They all do. I make mistakes. But at the end of the day, I know he’s going to play hard and give 100 percent when he’s out there, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Although he played point guard for his father at Culver Academies as a high school senior, most of Galloway’s career has been spent off the ball. That’s why you’ll see some wild stat lines like his nine assist, six turnover night on Wednesday. While setting career marks in assists over the last two years, Galloway is also averaging a career high in turnovers per game (2.4) this season.
Is he a point guard? Is he a starter? Can he shoot?
Five seasons and soon more games than anyone at IU into this thing, Galloway knows very well basketball is not a perfect game.
Galloway knows his run in Bloomington is about to come to an end too. And he wants this wild ride to end on a high note. But the wisdom he’s gained through five years says to take it all in, good or bad.
“I think we just have to keep reminding each other to cherish every moment because wins and losses, it’s all special because you’re learning through it all,” Galloway said Wednesday.
“So, I think just really cherishing these moments because when it’s over we’re all going to miss it and it’s going to be tough to really understand what it meant to put this uniform on and to go to war with our brothers every day.”
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