Indiana's Trey Galloway Adds Pieces to His Game, On Both Ends of the Floor

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — What gets ingrained in basketball players who are coach's sons is that it becomes commonplace to always be working on getting better. Complacency is not an option.

Never.

We've seen a lot of that from Indiana sophomore Trey Galloway this season, despite the fact that he missed six weeks after needing surgery to fix a fractured left wrist. Since he's come back, he's become a huge energy boost on both ends of the floor. He doesn't start games, but he finishes a lot of them thanks to his lockdown defense, and he's helped the Hoosiers win a lot of big games.

His aggressiveness and boundless energy make him a fan favorite. Even more importantly, his teammates and coaches love him, too.

That's him, and that's perfect. That's how he learned to play, and he was a star at Culver Academy while playing for his dad, Mark Galloway, playing hard and fast, and always finding a way to help his team.

He's certainly doing that at Indiana.

"Just watching a bunch of film, and having a feel of the game from my dad,'' Galloway said Monday when talking about how he learned to play so aggressively. "He really helped me with that, being aggressive and trusting my game and my instincts and my ability to make plays.''

Galloway loves a challenge, especially on the defensive end. He's shut down a lot of talented guards in the Big Ten, especially frustrating Purdue's Jaden Ivey during Indiana's huge upset of the then No. 4 Boilermakers back on Jan. 20. He also did a nice job making Eric Ayala's night miserable in Indiana's win at Maryland two weeks ago.

He's embraced Mike Woodson's defensive schemes, and accepts every battle.

"I think it's a good fit for me,'' Galloway said. "Coach Woodson has preached on defense, and we take pride in that as a team. Our goal is to be able to stop teams, and take things away from guys, and that's what we've focused on.''

He's also been a big help on the offensive end. He's scored six points or more in eight of the nine games since he's been back, all Big Ten games. The Hoosiers are 6-3 in that stretch, and Galloway's play has contributed to the wins in a big way.

Galloway loves driving hard and attacking the rim, but he's also learned that doesn't always end in success in the Big Ten. So we've seen a lot of little floaters in the lane from him, and he's been knocking down those little 6-8 footers before a help defender can get to him.

"I think it's been in my game for a while now, but recently I've wanted to get back to it,'' Galloway said. "It's been part of my game since high school, and just developing it, it's a good thing to have right now, especially against good bigs. That was one thing i really worked on when I hurt my wrist.

"It has been effective. Just getting into the paint and getting that shot and feeling comfortable shooting it, it's been effective and I'm going to keep on doing it.''

That says a lot about Galloway too. While he had a cast on his left wrist, he worked hard on things he could do with just one hand. The floater was one thing, but he also worked extremely hard in keeping his fitness up, because once he was finally cleared to play, he wanted to hit the ground running.

He's done exactly that.

And you really see it on the defensive end, where he can be a real pest. (Opposing players and fans might use a different word.) He buys in to that ''whatever it takes'' mentality, and he's great at blowing up screens and getting through them when many others won't.

"I think just focusing on what I have to do to contain those guys, that's my priority,'' Galloway said. "They're a lot of great players, but it's not just me, it's all five of us working together. I watch film and try to take away things that they're good at. I think it's really important (to blow up screens) and see when they're coming and get off of those and not die on them. It's about getting the scout and knowing what they're doing and making stops.''

That will come into play Tuesday night at Northwestern, because the Wildcats can be dangerous on the offensive end. They are fourth in the league in scoring (75.9 points per game) and can get hot in a hurry. For instance, they hit 10 three-pointers IN THE FIRST HALF against Nebraska on Saturday.

They need to be locked in — and stay locked in for 40 minutes.

"They're a great offensive team. They're tricky and they run a lot of good sets,'' Galloway said of Northwestern. "That's one thing we need to focus on and do a lot better.

"I think it's just the mentality of playing 40 minutes. Two halves can change drastically. Having that mentality of playing both halves and not playing the score, that's what we need to do. Putting a full game together for 40 minutes, that's what you have to do to win games in the Big Ten.

Indiana is 16-6 this season after Saturday's loss to Illinois. They've responded after each loss, though, going 5-0 and winning by an average of 17 points. They haven't lost back-to-back games all year.

"It means a lot to bounce back after a loss,'' Galloway said. "We haven't lost two in a row all year. We look at what we did wrong and learn from it. That's one thing we've really focused on.''

Galloway plays a lot with the starters at the end of games, but he's also often on the floor with all five bench guys, or four of five. There's been times when Indiana's offense has gone stagnant, and Galloway knows the bench mob can be more productive.

"I think one thing we can do is play at a better pace,'' Galloway said of his fellow reserves. "We're fresh, and transition points can help us because we should be able to get out and run.''

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