Malik Reneau Working To Showcase All-Around Game, Shoulder Expanded Role

Indiana forward Malik Reneau spent his freshman year learning behind veterans Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson as he adjusted to the college game. Entering his sophomore year, with Indiana experiencing significant roster turnover this offseason, he's working to take on a bigger role and expand his all-around game.

Jack Ankony | Jun 29, 2023

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Last week's NBA Draft officially signaled a period of change for the Indiana basketball program.

First, that Indiana returned to producing pro talent, and second, that its roster would be forced to adapt after losing NBA-bound leading scorers, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino, along with graduating starters Race Thompson and Miller Kopp.

As Malik Reneau attended Jackson-Davis' draft party, a portion of that responsibility shifted to the rising sophomore who spent his freshman campaign as an apprentice to Jackson-Davis and Thompson in the post. Reneau's first season at Indiana mixed flashes of potential with expected freshman struggles, and now he's working to develop his all-around game in hopes of fulfilling an expanded role on a rebuilt Indiana roster.

"Being able to do everything on the court, and I think this year I'll be able to do that and show a lot more of my game," Reneau said of his offseason developmental goals. "Pushing the ball in transition, posting up, shooting threes, all that stuff. I just want to be able to show my all-around game ... Running to the rim, posting up hard, catch-and-shoot threes, trail threes, dribble pull-ups, you know, trying to mix up all types of games. And still working on my strong suit, posting up and working on my hooks, so just working on everything every time I step onto the court."

Reneau arrived at Indiana last summer as a top-40 recruit, and he showcased his upside on multiple occasions. The 6-foot-9 forward scored 15 points in his debut against Morehead State, then scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in his first collegiate road game against a Xavier squad that earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. With an efficient 55.3 field goal percentage, he posted three double-digit scoring efforts in Big Ten play. Altogether, Reneau finished fifth among Hoosiers in scoring, averaging 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game.

It's possible Reneau would have been even more effective as a freshman, but he struggled to stay on the court for long stretches. Foul trouble became a serious issue for Reneau last year, as he fouled out twice, picked up four fouls nine times and finished eight games with three fouls – amounting to at least three fouls in 54.2 percent of games played.

Knowing he'll have to shoulder increased minutes with Jackson-Davis and Thompson gone, defense and conditioning have been a major areas of focus of Reneau. Throughout the summer, Reneau said he's working on perimeter defense, guarding smaller opponents when he switches onto them and keeping his hands up to avoid "ticky-tack" fouls. Eventually, he strives to be able to guard all five positions on the court.

And after one year at Indiana under coach Mike Woodson, he's well aware that strong defense is the path to playing time.

"Our team's going to be a defensive team no matter what," Reneau said. "We're going to defend, and we're going to try to hold people under 60 [points], so that's really what we do. Defense is a big key to our success when we come on to the basketball court."

With three incoming transfers and a three-man freshman class, Reneau said Woodson expects him to be a leader on this year's team. He's more comfortable with Woodson's defensive scheme now, which allows him to help the newcomers learn the system.

Reneau said his individual game doesn't change despite the roster turnover, other than being more confident to shoot the ball when he's open. It's never easy to replace a first-team All-American like Jackson-Davis, but Reneau is excited about what new front court members Kel'el Ware, Payton Sparks and Mackenzie Mgbako – Anthony Walker is currently finishing up classes at Miami – have brought to the team so far.

"I think we loaded up pretty well," Reneau said. "We got Kel'el and we got Payton, and both are pretty great, skilled players. Both can finish with both hands, can step out a little bit and shoot the ball, too ... Adding Mgbako to the list just boosted our team. He's got great size, can shoot the ball well, drives, finishes with both hands and has a great skillset. He can post up, too, so Mgbako he just adds a boost to our team that we needed ... So you see a good flow of what we're trying to go with our front court and understanding that we don't have Trayce anymore, so we've got to look somewhere else to find it."

Woodson is still emphasizing Indiana's post-up game, Reneau said, but he imagines it probably won't be as frequent as last season, when Jackson-Davis got the ball down low nearly every possession. Woodson mentioned last year that he never played through a true post player like Jackson-Davis during his time in the NBA, and there's reason to believe Ware and Reneau's versatility can allow for a more spread out style of offense.

"It's going to be a lot of ball screens and running up and down the court," Reneau said. "Getting out in transition and getting easy buckets and stuff like that. So we're trying to be a fast-paced team and get up and down the court and defend."

Indiana's Malik Reneau (5) celebrates during the second half of the Indiana versus Michigan State men's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. — Indiana's Malik Reneau (5) celebrates during the second half of the Indiana versus Michigan State men's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023 :: Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

It'll take some time for the new-look Hoosiers to mesh, but Reneau thinks their difficult nonconference schedule will help. Indiana hosts Kansas, plays Auburn at a neutral site in Atlanta, Ga., then goes to Madison Square Garden to play two games against UConn, Texas or Louisville.

"It's super exciting," Reneau said. "When you're playing the top of the top, you always try to strive for your best and give your best performance every time. So having this nonconference that tough, it's just going to help us prepare for the Big Ten play. I think that will be great for our team, especially that we're young and have a lot of new people coming."

Reneau said the Hoosiers have done a lot of team bonding this summer – like going to team breakfasts or fishing trips with Clif Marshall, Indiana's Director of Athletic Performance – which can boost team chemistry on the court.

"We got key pieces that we needed on the team to help us try to have a successful season. On the court we've been doing pretty well, having great practices, working hard, having great scrimmages and stuff like that. So we've been competing all throughout, and we're going to be ready to go when the season starts."

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