Trey Galloway Focused on Recovery, Recruiting After Season-Ending Loss

Trey Galloway was disappointed a late-season knee injury sidelined him for Indiana's pursuit of a Big Ten Tournament run, but now he's shifted his mentality to recovery and helping coach Mike Woodson recruit next year's roster.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — In a season full of injuries, Trey Galloway's was the nail in the coffin for Indiana.

The senior guard suffered a left knee injury before the Michigan State game and still played seven minutes before exiting in pain. Sources told HoosiersNow.com's Tom Brew that it's a meniscus injury, and that if the team had made a run to win the Big Ten Tournament, the team had not yet ruled Galloway out for the NCAA Tournament. 

But without Galloway, Indiana's challenge was too much to overcome. No. 3 seed Nebraska hit 14 3-pointers in Friday's Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal game, and a 17-0 run to end the first half was the dagger in the Hoosiers' 93-66 loss. Indiana will decline an invite to the NIT, if invited, sources confirmed. 

"It hurts because we got hot at the right time," Galloway said Friday in the Indiana locker room after the game. "Having (Xavier Johnson) back was so important to our team, and we were clicking at the right time. I think just having me go out like that, it definitely disrupts things and it's challenging because I'm a big piece to our team. 

"I'm just upset about it, that I wasn't able to be there for the guys and be able to compete in this tournament. But the good thing is I have another chance next year to be back, and that's what we're looking for. We're going to get better this summer and get ready."

Galloway's meniscus injury will require postseason surgery. But he believes he'll be able to at least return to his senior-year form, when he became a vital playmaker and defender for the Hoosiers, averaging a career-high 10.6 points and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Galloway had 11-plus assists in three of the last seven games, showing more comfort than ever running the show as Indiana's point guard.

He doesn't envision the injury affecting much of the offseason.

"Long term, I should be good to go and be ready to go this offseason and get back to where I was," Galloway said. "I'm not worried about anything long term. Like I said, just listen to the doctors and see what they have to do and be ready to go. ... It shouldn't be too long."

In addition to his recovery and individual development goals, one of Galloway's top priorities this offseason is recruiting. 

Indiana will have at least three open scholarships for next season, due to Xavier Johnson and Anthony Walker exhausting their collegiate eligibility and Indiana leaving a scholarship open this past season. That number could grow even greater if Indiana loses players to the NBA Draft or transfer portal, which would be unsurprising in this era of college basketball.

Indiana's coaching staff has already reportedly been in contact with several guards in the transfer portal, and Galloway is more than willing to help bring talent to Bloomington.

"I've got to be the biggest recruiter because I want to win," Galloway said. "We've got to find guys and keep guys that want to be here and want to play for Indiana and want to win. So I'm going to try my best to help our coaches and do whatever it takes for us to get guys in here that want to win. I'll do whatever it takes. Whatever they need from me, I'll do it."

Indiana Hoosiers guard Trey Galloway (32) dribbles during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena.

Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Galloway was named a team captain before the season, along with Johnson. It was a challenging season with plenty of ups and downs, but those hard times were where Galloway felt he learned the most valuable lessons as a team leader. 

He wishes the season would have gone differently with injuries and on-court success, but that only adds to his motivation to make a bigger jump in his fifth-year senior season.

"I think maintaining and staying focused to what I have to do to be better next year as a captain to help our team and make that jump," Galloway said. "Because obviously we want to make the tournament every year and not making the tournament — that's a disappointment to us. So we've got to get better this summer and get ready to go."

Indiana had six new scholarship players on this year's roster after losing a bulk of its rotation from the 2022-23 team that tied for second in the Big Ten regular season and earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament before losing in the Round of 32. 

Galloway spoke candidly Friday that it took too long for Indiana to find its stride this season. Though the Hoosiers won their first two conference games, they didn't win any major nonconference games and had a 2-8 stretch in the heart of Big Ten play in January and February.

Galloway views this season as a great learning lesson for himself as a leader and for those returning to Indiana next season. One of those players already known is fellow fifth-year senior guard Anthony Leal, who earned increased minutes toward the end of the season and made two game-winning shots against Ohio State and Penn State. 

Indiana closed the regular season on a four-game win streak and won its first Big Ten Tournament game, but it's Galloway's mission to get things to click earlier next year. 

"We've got to come together and form an identity early," Galloway said. "I think we didn't really have a true identity of our team early on, and we built that toward the end of the year and that was our toughness and togetherness. That's how we were able to win five in a row, just because we were able to form that identity. So I think just forming that identity early in the season will be big for us."

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• TOM BREW COLUMN: Referee D.J. Carstensen ejected Mike Woodson from Indiana's ugly 93-66 loss to Nebraska Friday night, and he did something that Scott Dolson and Quinn Buckner wouldn't do. He told him he couldn't coach Indiana basketball any more. That's how this putrid 2023-24 season full of blowout losses ends, a brutal year that simply can't happen again. CLICK HERE
• GAME STORY: Indiana's season ended with another thud on Friday night, getting blown out by Nebraska 93-66 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The loss took the shine off their five-game winning streak and left them with a final record of 19-14. CLICK HERE
• WHAT MIKE WOODSON SAID: Here's the full video and transcript of Mike Woodson's press conference following Indiana's 93-66 loss to Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament. CLICK HERE
• WHAT FRED HOIBERG SAID: Here's the full transcript and video of Fred Hoiberg's press conference following Nebraska's 93-66 win over Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. CLICK HERE
• PHOTO GALLERY: Indiana's basketball season came to an end on Friday night. The Hoosiers got blown out by Nebraska in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, losing 93-66. Here are the best photos from the game. CLICK HERE