With a long break until IU basketball returns to the floor, it seems like a good time to check in on each player on the roster and examine how they are performing against preseason expectations.
Today we look at junior guard Trey Galloway. See also: Jordan Geronimo | Tamar Bates
Trey Galloway’s traditional numbers through 13 games:
- MPG: 23.6
- PPG: 6.2
- RPG: 3.6
- APG: 1.8
- BPG: 0.2
- SPG: 0.5
- TPG: 0.7
- FG%: 56.4
- 3FG%: 50.0
The preseason chatter: Galloway had offseason groin surgery, so one question was whether he’d be fully ready at the start of the season. The Culver, Ind. product worked his way into the starting five in each of his first two seasons. That signaled his value in the eyes of two different head coaches. But the big question was, could Galloway round out his offensive game with a reliable perimeter shot that would keep defenses honest?
What is going well: While his shot volume is low, Galloway seems to be a much improved 3-point shooter. He’s made 8-of-16 so far this season in 10 games after shooting 12-of-61 over his first two seasons. His release looks quicker, he has more arc on his shot, and Galloway has shown an ability to make threes off the dribble. Galloway is also making 61 percent of his twos, and overall he has IU’s highest effective field goal percentage (66.7 percent) and overall offensive rating according to KenPom. With a 14.2 percent turnover rate so far, Galloway has taken much better care of the ball too. He had a 22.8 percent turnover rate for each of his first two seasons. And on the defensive end, Galloway is solid on the perimeter without fouling excessively. His physical style allows IU to be more aggressive at the top of the defense.
What needs to improve: While Galloway has proven to be efficient, he tends to fade out of the picture on the offensive end. He has the lowest percentage of possessions on the team that end with his shots or turnovers. That signals a reluctance to force the issue, and that doesn’t pair well with his high efficiency rate. His assist rate is also down from last year. As we saw against Northwestern a year ago, if Galloway looks to score and create on the offensive end, he can fill that role. There’s probably a balance somewhere in the middle where he isn’t hunting shots, but also isn’t passing up opportunities to score. And all of this is especially true with one of IU’s top playmakers Xavier Johnson out for a while.
And what isn’t clear yet with Galloway is whether he can be a higher impact offensive player against top competition. While he played well against North Carolina and Xavier, his three worst offensive games by a healthy margin came in Indiana’s three losses.
Final thoughts: Is he the heart and soul of the team? A glue guy? Mike Woodson and his teammates just call him “crazy man.” Whatever you want to call him, Galloway is a critical part of the team, who seems to be on the court to end games whether or not he starts there.
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