For redshirt freshman Haley Troup, basketball has never been just a hobby or a passion — it's been the Gadsden, Ala., native's way of life for the past two decades.
"I was pretty much born in the gym," Troup said. "From the time I was really small I was always at my dad's practices. I remember sitting on the bench with him, always listening and taking everything in."
Haley's father, Kevin Troup, played college basketball at Athens State University in Athens, Ala., and later transitioned to become the head coach of multiple middle school and high school programs throughout northeast Alabama. As Haley began a basketball career of her own, the young guard's father continued to inspire her flourishing love for the game.
"Because my dad was a coach and had constant access to the gym, he and I were always there — I'm so grateful I had that opportunity as a kid," Troup said. "I think most of my basketball IQ comes from my dad… from all of the work we put in throughout the years."
Along with the goal of developing a high basketball IQ, Troup says her shooting was another element of her game that she honed in on as a young player.
"I really take pride in my shooting," Troup said. "It's something I've been so passionate about improving throughout my career, especially when I was in high school."
After completing her junior year at Gadsden City High School — where she had already accumulated stellar career totals of 1,726 points, 1,017 rebounds and 724 assists over the course of three years — Troup committed to the University of South Carolina in July of 2016, choosing USC over a slew of other offers, including Auburn, Mizzou, Texas, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt.
Troup's senior campaign at Gadsden City was just as remarkable as her first three seasons. She averaged 19.4 points and seven rebounds per game in her final year as a Titan, resulting in her being named the 2016-17 7A Alabama Player of the Year and receiving Alabama Super All-State First Team recognition. As her storybook high school career came to a close, Troup was ready to travel to the East Coast to begin her college basketball journey.
However, after spending three months in Columbia, S.C., Troup felt the need to transfer to a different program.
"I decided to go ahead and move on, and Mizzou was one of my first choices," Troup said. "I'd always had a great relationship with Coach Pingeton from the time she'd initially recruited me out of high school. Coach P took me in and gave me an opportunity with this team and for that I'm so, so thankful."
Troup credits the program's "incredible culture" as the top factor in her decision to become a Tiger a little over a year ago.
"These girls are literally my sisters — we tell each other everything and we're always there for each other," Troup said. "Everyone in the country preaches about their team's family atmosphere, but we actually live it out here through our core values and through what Coach P has built through the years."
Following her transfer to Mizzou last August, Troup was forced to sit out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Now eligible to play this year, the redshirt freshman is looking forward to contributing to her team's success as the new season approaches.
"After I transferred here, no one thought that I would really make it in college basketball," Troup said. "But I'm not focused on that. I'm focused on helping my team in any way that I can or any way that they need me to. We've been practicing really hard and we're pumped to go out there, let the fans see us work and put on a show."
With a plethora of veteran and newcomer talent on the 2018-19 Mizzou Women's Basketball roster, expectations for this year's Tigers are extremely high. But Troup's aspirations for her team are even higher.
"As a team, I think the last few years we've fallen short of what we want to accomplish in the postseason," she said. "It's important to go day-by-day and game-by-game, but at the same time we have really big goals for Sophie (Cunningham) and Lauren's (Aldridge) final seasons. We really want to make a strong push in the tournament and be in contention for both a conference championship and a national championship."
Troup's basketball journey has been a winding road that she admits hasn't been the smoothest at various points throughout her life. But she holds no past regrets and is looking ahead to a bright future as a Missouri Tiger.
With four years of eligibility remaining and her Mizzou family supporting her every step of the way, Troup is embracing the possibilities of a limitless tomorrow.
"I wouldn't trade my journey for anything," she said. "I love it here. It's pure hard work and determination that got me to where I am now and I'm not going to slow down anytime soon."
As she makes her first career appearance under the bright lights of Mizzou Arena next week, Troup reflects on words of advice that she would give to the little girl who sat on the bench next to her dad all those years ago.
"I would tell that little girl to outwork everyone and dream really, really big," she said. "Dreams really do happen because I'm living mine at Mizzou right now."
Mizzou opens their exhibition slate on Oct. 29 as the Tigers take on Missouri Western at Mizzou Arena.