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Third-year guard Trey Galloway continues to be a critical part to the success of Indiana. While it has been because of his energy and defensive ability, his offensive production has started to be a new dimension to the Indiana offense.
In Sunday's win over Michigan State, Galloway had 17 points on 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-3 from three. He also had three assists and zero turnovers in 35 minutes. His 17 points were second-highest this season -- and career.
That performance was another example of his recent surge as a scorer for Indiana. He has scored 10+ points in three of the last four games.
In total, he has six games in double figures this season. He had just five in 45 career games in his first two seasons.
After his 3-of-3 performance on Sunday, Galloway is now 15-of-29 (51.7 percent) from three this season. He has five games with at least two made 3s in a game. He had just two games in his first two seasons.
"There were a lot of guys in the gym with me and helping me out,'' Galloway said earlier this season about his summer work. "Coach Walsh was with me this spring for most of that time, focusing on my mechanics and doing all the little things on my shot to keep grooving it. Jordy (Jordan Hulls) as well, those two guys were in there with me, trying to help.
"Those guys really helped me out just by making me stay disciplined in my shot and keep it the same way every time. I feel more confident, and that's just all with the process. I'm really just focusing on my mechanics, and getting under it and shooting it higher when I'm fatigued."
Galloway has been tremendous on the ball over the last month since Xavier Johnson went down with a broken foot as well.
He has had 13 assists to just six turnovers since the Johnson injury.
"Just running that second unit -- helped me out to get ready for the season," Galloway said postgame. "It was really hard going against Jalen and Xavier in the fall. They made me a lot better, being able to handle the ball and practice against each other and getting that experience in practice, really helped out and it showed today."
"It started back again this summer when he was on the second unit," IU head coach Mike Woodson said. "He and Tamar Bates had a lot of duties in terms of handling the ball when X was playing, so I had X and Jalen matched up against those two, and they had to bring the ball up the floor like point guards do, and you know, they had to be -- they had to be basketball players, that's kind of how I look at it, and we look at a lot of ball handling drills with our -- with all of our players, to make them feel comfortable about handling the basketball when they get on the game floor and they start playing for real.
"So it's the work that he's put in this summer that's put him in the position to be able to get the trust from me and the coaching staff to let him run our point."
Galloway was used as the primary ball handler from the 14:52 mark until the 3:39 mark when Jalen Hood-Schifino was on the bench. Galloway helped the Hoosiers stretch the lead from just two points to 13 in that span.
On the season, Galloway is averaging 7.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this season. He is shooting 57.3 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from there.
"Gallo has been solid. He's been solid from day one," Woodson said. "I like Gallo because he plays hard and does all the intangible things, things guys don't like to do. The trust factor is there."
In the previous two years, his biggest asset to the team was his defense and hard work. Through 16 games played this season, however, Galloway is proving to be a really valuable offensive player for Indiana and adding another scoring threat and ball handler to an offense that is starting to click.
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