The in-state kid gives Assembly Hall a reason to cheer one last time.
Of course it was him.
This moment. This shot. This player. Trey Galloway.
It’s his last game in Assembly Hall and there’s an NCAA Tournament berth on the line. The opponent is Ohio State, about as traditional as it gets for Big Ten foes.
Here in this arena, in this state, Galloway is about to cement his legacy as an Indiana Hoosier.
…
Galloway is the classic in-state kid. Coming out of high school in 2020, he held offers from every high-major program in the state and a few others from around the Big Ten such as Iowa and Michigan State.
He checked the boxes, had good athleticism, played hard and could do a bit of everything with the ball in his hands. Not a future star necessarily but the kind of player every good team could use and every great team needs.
Though he originally committed to play for Archie Miller, he elected to stay in Bloomington when Mike Woodson was hired and has proceeded to play under him for four years.
But every time Galloway was on the floor, he was giving the team everything he had. He was a key piece off the bench as a sophomore during Woodson’s first season, slotted in as a complimentary starter during his second, took over as de facto point guard in his third and has probably saved his fourth season from outright disaster.
Galloway is this team’s point guard, make no mistake. Again, he’s been pressed into the role, but this time it isn’t by injury. This time he’s just the best option to run the offense, despite Indiana’s transfer portal moves this past offseason.
He didn’t necessarily light the box score on fire in the scoring margin, but statistically Galloway is one of Indiana’s best passers of the last decade-plus, his numbers enter Yogi Territory as a passer.
It’s pretty evident when he’s in the game too, he’s the only guy looking to run pick-and-rolls with Oumar Ballo and regularly looking to Ballo as a lob threat.
Now he might not always make the best play, there’s absolutely shots and passes he’d like back, but that’s true of literally every basketball player who spends any decent length of time on the court.
Galloway is, without a doubt, one of the most important Indiana players of the past decade or so. He’s always been there and stepped up when he’s been asked, even in the early days of this season when he was recovering from injury.
Now, again, let’s go back to that moment.
…
With the shot clock expiring, Galloway pulls from deep. But… Indiana has a lead? It’s a really risky shot and a weird clock situat- and it went IN?
Assembly Hall rises with Galloway after the dagger, as it should.
It’s the loudest the building has been all year.
Trey Galloway, the Indiana Hoosier, earned this.
Deserved this.