As he enters his final season, Trey Galloway’s ‘success would be being remembered as a winner’ as he looks to leave behind an incredible legacy for Indiana basketball

Time flies pretty fast when it comes to Indiana basketball –or really college basketball in general — it seems like when you think of the players that have come through over the years. While it is rarity nowadays that a player stays for 4+ years at any program due to the era of the transfer portal, you still have players that remain loyal to a team through the ups, downs, and adversity that comes their way.

Trey Galloway is one of those players and while it is hard to believe, we are officially entering the final season of one of the biggest fan favorites the Indiana basketball program has seen.

After five years with Indiana, Galloway went from being the new guy — a four-star freshman from Culver, IN that was unknown at the time just exactly what he would bring to the program — to one of the leaders and faces of Indiana basketball. As time went on, the perspective as a player for Trey Galloway has changed in the five years he has been in Bloomington.

“I think about it a lot. I think about just the amount of time I spent here,” said Trey Galloway on The Players’s Perspective hosted by former Indiana basketball wing Miller Kopp. “I am going into my fifth year now and I look around and go ‘wow, I’m the oldest guy around here.'”

“Now I am finally in the moment where I like am the guy that needs to help other people. It’s been great to learn so many different things both on and off the court.”

It is probably safe to say, the fifth-year Indiana basketball guard has been through a ton during his time in Bloomington. From fighting multiple injures, to a coaching change his sophomore year, to having to step into roles he was not naturally comfortable with….it has just been a lot for one single college player.

For five years, we have seen Trey Galloway grow as a player each time he stepped on the floor for the Hoosiers. When he started his Indiana basketball career, Galloway was a little one-dimensional as a player. A guy that was known for bringing the spark off the bench and someone that was going to slash to get his points while leaving everything he had on the floor.

As his career went on, Galloway continued to develop to his peak as a basketball player. While he still did everything he did when he first was brought into the program, Galloway developed his offensive game as a a scorer learned how to become a facilitator, and grew into a leader.

Not only have we as media and fans seen the growth of Galloway, his teammates and coaches have witnessed firsthand, as well.

“You know when I got here, your demeanor has changed from….you saw yourself as, just like with a bunch of new people, just trying to figure it out,” said Miller Kopp, who was teammates with Galloway for two seasons. “It just seems like you (Galloway) went from trying to figure it out, figuring yourself out as a basketball player, to then being comfortable in your role and understanding the big picture of a team and a season.”

“That is why I always loved playing with you is because…I could always tell in your eyes in a game, in practice, like when you had it. When ‘it’ was on.”

The growth of Galloway as a basketball player was seen throughout the years, but most importantly, the trust in Galloway to lead a team grew larger also as was seen last season where ehe averaged a career high 10.6 points, 4.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds. He became one of four Indiana basketball players with three games of 11+ assists in a career, joining Isiah Thomas, Jamal Meeks and Michael Lewis, doing so all in the last six games he played.

“We got a lot of trust in Galloway. No doubt about that,” Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson said last season. “He’s played probably some of the most minutes of anybody on our team this year. So we trust when the ball is in his hands he can make basketball plays.”

More: Indiana Basketball Returner Focus: Senior Guard Trey Galloway

The legacy of Indiana basketball guard Trey Galloway is looking to be defined this season

Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The term “success” when it comes to Indiana basketball is a very controversial one. While some may look at the record over the recent years a success, most judge it much more harder than that. In many eyes of Hoosier Nation, success has been something that Indiana basketball has not had in quite some time.

In the last five years of Galloway being a part of the program, the amount of success that Indiana basketball has had has not been the exact the amount that fans have been wanting. The have been some highs, but there have also been a lot of lows in Galloway’s time in Bloomington.

Galloway will end his Indiana basketball career playing on arguably the most talented team he has ever been a part of. There are high expectations for the 2024-25 Indiana basketball Hoosiers with many believing that this team can be a championship contender both in the conference and on a national scale.

When it comes to success this season for Galloway, the most obvious answer is easily winning a championship in some form or way. However, there is much more to it when you define what exactly success looks like for Galloway with his final year approaching.

For Trey Galloway, success means something even greater.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s obviously everybody’s answer (winning a Big Ten championship),’ said Galloway. “That’s everyone’s goals you know? I think success would be, looking at the big picture, leaving a really good legacy at Indiana and going off on a really high note. I mean, that’s the reason I came back is to win and be remembered as a winner.”

“I think just leaving my legacy, leaving the program better than when I came into it. Indiana wasn’t great when I committed. I mean it’s home and there is nothing better than me trying to see Indiana be at the top where it belongs. Obviously we have had a lot of ups and downs, but I think a success would be being remembered as a winner and going out as a winner my final year. It would be huge.”

Every player that wants to be successful at the college level always has the intention of leaving behind an incredible legacy on their way out. Galloway is no different than others that have come before him.

Galloway, however, has blazed his own path over the last five years. He has fought through tons of adversity to get this point while putting in the work necessary to leave a championship level mark on the Indiana basketball program. The player from northern Indiana has a chance to help lead a very special team to doing very special things this season.

“Being a part of this team, it’s going to be special. So we gotta make sure my senior year is done right.”

There is still more work to be done in order to get there, but before you know it, Galloway’s time at Indiana will be in the books.

What legacy will Trey Galloway leave behind? We will find out over the next several months.

SEE ALSO: ‘I 100 percent believe I’m going to be back to my normal self’: IU basketball guard Trey Galloway optimistic about recovery process

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