St. Joseph's Langston Galloway gains confidence as a leader

Like many players, St. Joseph's junior guard Langston Galloway was a hotshot scorer in high school, one who knew his team depended on his offense.

Yet after Galloway averaged 26 points as a senior at Christian Life Academy in his hometown of Baton Rouge, La., and despite becoming an immediate regular as a freshman at St. Joseph's, the 6-foot-2 guard would at times have doubts about his game.

The doubts even crept into last year - although it was difficult to tell as Galloway finished fourth in the nation in three-point percentage, hitting 46.6 of his shots from beyond the arc.

"It took a little time because I was up and down," Galloway said about gaining assurance. "[In my] sophomore year I started to build my confidence more."

Galloway averaged 15.5 points for a Hawks team that went 20-14 and ended its season with a first-round loss to Northern Iowa in the NIT.

Now, the player who is quiet by nature has been voted the lone captain of his team, one that was picked to finish atop the Atlantic Ten in a poll of the media and coaches.

"It means a lot to me that my team believes I could lead by example," Galloway said.

For Galloway, it's much easier to lead by example than by word. If he has to get on a teammate, he could, but it's really not his style.

"Everything he does is what you want in a college basketball player because of his work ethic," said junior forward Halil Kanacevic.

Since he is so well-respected, it's almost nit-picking to find a flaw in Galloway's makeup.

"He's such a beautiful person that sometimes it gets in the way of him being that nasty takeover guy," coach Phil Martelli said.

So there it is - the one flaw his coach could cite is that Galloway isn't always mean enough.

Shouldn't we all be flawed like that?

One thing that Galloway and Martelli both want the junior to do more of is taking the ball to the basket. Since he's such a proficient three-point shooter, opponents aren't going to allow him such free rein beyond the arc.

"I have worked on attacking the basket more," said Galloway, who has the strength and quick first step to do just that.

Sometimes, though, old habits are hard to break.

"I have the guys go one-on-one in practice - and even then, Langston is so good shooting that he often pulls up and takes the jumper," Martelli said. "I want him to take it to the basket."

Galloway's connection to St. Joseph's is Hawks assistant Geoff Arnold, who is his uncle, the brother of his mother, Jeralyn.

While growing up, Galloway would spend parts of his summers in Philadelphia, where he has family. He said he liked the atmosphere and the way Martelli ran the program. During the recruiting process, St. Joseph's was the only school to which Galloway made an official visit, although he said other Division I schools showed interest.

Carrying a double major in sports marketing and communications, Galloway said he has enjoyed his time at St. Joseph's.

True to his nature, Galloway doesn't feel any extra burden from the preseason predictions.

"We haven't proven anything yet," he said. "People can say what they want, but we know we have to go out there and win games."

This year, Galloway will take it upon himself to be more of a leader.

The part about becoming meaner may be more of a challenge.

He is a person who has earned campuswide respect, according to his coach.

"If there were no basketball, Langston Galloway would be a huge asset on our campus," Martelli said. "Because he gives people respect he gets a lot of respect - and it's not 'basketball respect,' it's respect as a person."

The basketball respect is there as well, evidenced by the high expectations that face Galloway and his team this season.