Woodson Sees Development From Galloway, Bates Running Indiana's Offense

With the recent injury to Jalen Hood-Schifino, Indiana has relied on Trey Galloway and Tamar Bates to run the offense when Xavier Johnson is on the bench. Neither are true point guards, but Woodson has seen steady development in their ability to bring the ball up the court and make plays.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Coach Mike Woodson prepared for this situation – one he wished he'd never face – when Indiana started its journey for the 2022-23 season over the summer.

Unlike many teams, Indiana only carries two true point guards, fifth-year veteran Xavier Johnson and five-star freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino. Woodson knows injuries happen, and he wanted to be ready for whatever was thrown at the Hoosiers.

That meant developing junior guard Trey Galloway and sophomore guard Tamar Bates, neither of whom are point guards by definition. Woodson envisioned Bates as a starting two guard when he flipped his commitment from Texas to Indiana, but he's noticed the growth of Bates' overall game. 

"My thing was we've got to develop Tamar and Galloway and get them in a position where they're comfortable bringing the ball up the floor and making basketball plays," Woodson said.

That became especially important when Hood-Schifino went down with a back injury. After a season-high 14 points against North Carolina, Hood-Schifino was a surprise inactive against Rutgers on Dec. 3. The Indiana offense struggled mightily against Rutgers swarming defense, and Hoosiers not named Miller Kopp shot a woeful 20.5 percent from the field in a 63-48 loss. The outcome may have been the same with Hood-Schifino healthy, but it was clear that Indiana severely missed one of its two primary ball handlers. 

Hood-Schifino remained out four days later for Indiana's Big Ten home opener against Nebraska, but the Hoosiers' offense played with improved fluidity in an 81-65 win. Especially Galloway and Bates. The Nebraska defense was determined to not let Trayce Jackson-Davis dominate in the paint, but it was a pick-your-poison night as he finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

In his second consecutive start, Galloway finished with a career-high 20 points in 27 minutes of play. He knocked down 4-of-6 3-pointers, drove to the basket and moved the ball to keep Nebraska's defense off balance. Bates stepped up in a major way, too. After a career-high 22 points on Nov. 25, Bates contributed 19 points and connected on 5-of-8 3-point attempts against Nebraska. 

"I thought when we started our journey at the very beginning, [Bates] was one of the best players on the floor. Him and Xavier," Woodson said. "[Bates] has had his moments, but he's also had some good games that you say, 'Hey, he's starting to figure out some things,' and we've just got to keep him in a good place and keep him ready to play."

Johnson still served as the team's primary point guard, but Woodson thinks Galloway and Bates have done a pretty good job stepping in to run the offense with Hood-Schifino sidelined. 

"They both can do that now," Woodson said. "Gallo's really gotten good at it, so I've felt pretty good. I thought in the Nebraska game at home, Gallo was great in terms of running the second unit until I can get X back in."

This adjustment has come with its fair share of struggles, make no mistake. Against Arizona on Saturday, Johnson picked up his second foul 15:55 mark in the first half. Woodson had no choice but to sit Johnson on the bench and let Galloway and Bates run the offense. Arizona went on a 20-2 run until Johnson returned to hit two free throws at the 11:13 mark. Despite Indiana's resilience to cut the Wildcats' lead to three points in the second half, the early run proved too much to overcome. 

On the season, Galloway is averaging 6.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 54.8 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from 3 on 13 attempts. Bates contributes 8.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 52.4 percent overall and 41.2 percent on 34 attempts from 3-point range.

Next up for Indiana is a challenging road test against No. 8 Kansas in a hostile environment at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. Woodson gave an injury update on Hood-Schifino on Thursday, and his potential return would provide a huge boost for Indiana in a variety of ways. But if he can't go, the Hoosiers will again rely on Galloway and Bates to handle the ball next to Johnson.

"Getting Jalen back helps," Woodson said. "Because it gives us another guy that can run your team, another guy that can score the ball and defend and do a lot of things at that position."

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• HOOD-SCHIFINO INJURY UPDATE: Indiana coach Mike Woodson said freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino has been back on the floor shooting around and is hoping to go through a full practice. The Hoosiers could really use him in Saturdays big game at No. 8 Kansas. CLICK HERE
• JAMES BLACKMON JR. REVISITS WIN OVER KANSAS: Indiana and Kansas share rich college basketball history, and they'll match up Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse for the first time since 2016 in Hawaii. James Blackmon Jr. led the Hoosiers with 26 points that day, and he discussed that game with HoosiersNow.com this week. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA DROPS IN LATEST BRACKETOLOGY: Following a home win over Nebraska and a 14-point loss to No. 9 Arizona in Las Vegas, Indiana basketball dropped in Joe Lunardi's Latest Bracketology on ESPN. CLICK HERE
• BIG TEN POWER RANKINGS: Purdue has made an emphatic statement during the first month-plus of the college basketball season, and the Boilermakers are the clear No. 1 team in our first Big Ten Power Rankings. They've gone from unranked nationally to No. 1 in just four weeks. Here's our rankings from No. 1 to No. 14, sure to ignite some debate. CLICK HERE
• MIKE WOODSON RADIO SHOW: On the 'Inside Indiana Basketball' radio show, coach Mike Woodson talked with play-by-play announcer Don Fischer about Indiana's win over Nebraska, loss to Arizona in Las Vegas, upcoming matchup with Kansas and more. Here are the highlights. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA REMAINS NO. 14 IN AP POLL: Indiana got a Big Ten win last week, but then lost to No. 9 Arizona on Saturday, so they stood pat in this week's Associated Press Top-25 poll at No. 14. Here is the complete poll, with a new No. 1, the Purdue Boilermakers. Six Big Ten teams are in the poll. CLICK HERE