Insider: IU is going to count on freshman Trey Galloway

BLOOMINGTON – Trey Galloway’s first college basket came on the run.

Already one of Indiana’s best players in transition, Galloway wasted little time proving his ability in the open floor in Wednesday’s season opener against Tennessee Tech. He was Indiana’s best bench scorer on the evening, adding 13 points in an 89-59 win. The first of those points? From a 3-on-2 fast break that ended with Galloway hitting his layup, drawing a foul and making the ensuing free throw.

“(Galloway) got out in transition three or four times and made good plays,” IU coach Archie Miller said postgame. “He can really finish. I think you got a chance to see what we see in in open floor, how he attacks.”

One of four freshmen added in the 2021 class, Galloway won a state title playing for his father at Culver before signing with IU. He’s one of three players the Hoosiers pulled from the same Indiana Elite AAU team, along with Anthony Leal and Khristian Lander.

He’s also a player Miller looks prepared to count on.

Galloway was one of Indiana’s first two subs against Tennessee Tech, and the Hoosiers’ (1-0) second-leading reserve in minutes played. He scored those 13 points on just nine shots, making six. He added two rebounds and two assists, across 19 minutes. He missed both of his 3-point attempts, but made 6-of-7 2s, looking supremely comfortable around the rim.

Miller talked up Galloway’s improvement shooting the 3 in the weeks leading up to the season, but Wednesday’s evidence suggests his earliest impact will come in the open floor.

“You can tell he runs really well,” sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis said. “He’s a really good finisher at the other end of the floor, especially when it’s 1-on-1. He has really good body control.”

Galloway made the most of his chance against Tennessee Tech but, in this abbreviated season, warm-ups are already over.

Indiana opens Maui play Wednesday against Providence. The Hoosiers will face either Texas or Davidson in the second round, with a potential meeting against North Carolina lingering just out of view should they reach the final.

One week after IU’s final game in Asheville, N.C. — where the Invitational has been moved this season due to COVID-19 — the Hoosiers travel to Florida State for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

There is virtually no margin for error. Players like Galloway will have to grow up fast.

“The big thing with Trey is the physicality on the boards,” Miller said. “He’s going to have to find a way over the course of the season to get more involved in the rebounding game. We are a small, perimeter-oriented team. It helps you on one end, but you really have to be aware of it on the other end. I think that is the biggest concern, when we head to Asheville, can we rebound?”

To make the small lineups that fit Indiana’s personnel work, players like Galloway will need to be tough on the glass. But those same lineups allow the Hoosiers more offensive flexibility, balancing the strengths they give up elsewhere.

Which is to say Galloway’s encouraging performance in the season opener reinforces his role here in the first part of the season: keep running.

“We want Trey to rebound a little better,” Miller said, “but he’s definitely one of the best players we have, without question, in transition. I think in general you will be able to see more of that as we keep going here.”

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.