College Prospect Spotlight: Indiana's Malik Reneau

This week, we highlight the spectacular play of Indiana forward Malik Reneau.

It's tough to break into the rotation as a freshman at a high major program, even for the top recruits in the country. This often results in these types of players having inconsistent roles, making it tough to get into a rhythm. Regardless, there's always freshman that blossom as the year goes on and have a chance to go to the NBA even if they aren't a focal point of the roster.

These are the types of prospects who don't get as much national attention as they deserve as freshmen, but are incredible players that could make an impact at the next level.

For this week’s spotlight, we take a look at Indiana forward Malik Reneau, who has legitimate NBA talent.

Malik Reneau (Forward | Indiana Hoosiers)

6'9” | 235 lbs

Season Stats: 6.8 PPG | 3.8 RPG | 54.5% FG

Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times-USA TODAY NETWORK

Notable Accolades

A former Montverde Academy standout and five-star prospect, the ceiling is incredibly high for Reneau. He was a top 25 player in his high school class and is projected to make his way into the NBA at some point.

On a good Indiana team with a ton of experienced players, Reneau is still looking to find his groove. It’s tough to come in as a freshman and carve out a role, but the flashes he has shown speak to the tremendous contributor he should one day be.

Reneau has notched a 63 DSI, which is his best attribute among Cerebro’s advanced metrics. He’s notched double-digit steals and blocks this season in just over 250 total minutes played.

The Indiana freshman got off to a really hot start early in the season, scoring double figures in four of his first five college games, but hasn’t done it since. As of today, Reneau will likely need another year at the college level before making the jump, but absolutely has NBA upside. 

NBA Upside 

When watching Reneau play, it’s obvious he has great size and length at 6-foot-9 to be an impactful two-way player. He also has the unique opportunity of playing under Trayce Jackson-Davis, who is exemplary of the perfect college forward. He also has gotten the opportunity to play for another highly talented freshman in Jalen Hood-Schifino.

As it relates to Reneau’s offensive game, his 3-point shot and free throw efficiency need a lot of work, but he has been efficient inside the arc. He’s also been an effective rebounder in limited action, and most of his overall numbers when scaled out to a larger sample of minutes are promising.

Reneau has always played at the highest level, most recently going to back-to-back GEICO High School national championships before making the jump to the college level. He’s also shown throughout his years on different teams that he can be a really impactful role player in limited action but can also step up and be more of a focal point as well.

With the size and ability to fill many different needs, Reneau has what it takes to go to the league in the near future. 

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