With the start of college basketball season approaching, we’ve moved from our look at other Big Ten programs to our player-by-player previews of the 2024-25 Indiana roster.
Today, our player profiles continue with junior Malik Reneau.
Previously: Bryson Tucker, Jakai Newton, Myles Rice, Mackenzie Mgbako, Gabe Cupps, Kanaan Carlyle
Malik Reneau took a major step forward as a sophomore.
As a freshman for the Hoosiers, Reneau was behind All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis on the depth chart and averaged 14.9 minutes per game. He was still highly productive in those limited minutes and averaged 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds. Reneau shot 55.3 percent from the field, a stellar mark for a freshman.
Foul issues, however, prevented Reneau from playing more minutes in his first season. He averaged 6.8 fouls per 40 minutes, according to KenPom. Most of the fouls were unnecessary. Reneau was often out of position or reached in when he didn’t need to.
With a season of experience under his belt, Reneau was ready to shoulder a bigger load in his second season as a Hoosier.
After the departure of Jackson-Davis to the NBA, Reneau became a go-to scoring option in Mike Woodson’s offense. He had the seventh-highest usage rate of any Big Ten player in league games at 27.3 percent. Reneau averaged 15.4 points, six rebounds and 2.7 assists in 28.7 minutes. He cut down on the fouling, too. The Miami, Florida native averaged 4.3 fouls per 40 minutes as a sophomore.
Reneau also developed a synergy with frontcourt mate Kel’el Ware and showed off one of his best skills, passing. His assist rate of 18.1 percent ranked among the top 20 in the Big Ten. One other wrinkle from Reneau was the addition of a perimeter shot. He attempted just eight 3s as a freshman and took 45 as a sophomore. He connected on 33.3 percent from deep.
At season’s end, Reneau earned All-Big Ten honorable mention honors. Now a junior, even more is expected from the left-handed big man.
For Reneau to unlock his full potential, he must make gains in several areas. Improving on the glass should be a clear focus for Reneau, who ranked just 20th in offensive rebounding percentage in the league last season.
“It’s been emphasized a lot,” Reneau said at media day. “Especially the threes, fours and fives crashing the offensive glass. Especially knowing that we were a bad rebounding team last year. In my case, too, I was a bad rebounder. I gotta emphasize it in my mind that I gotta rebound, too.”
Cutting down on fouls should remain a clear area of emphasis for Reneau. He cut down on his fouls per 40 minutes by 2.5 last season, but 4.3 per 40 minutes is still a high number. Over his four-year career at Indiana, Jackson-Davis never averaged more than 2.7 fouls per 40 minutes.
With Oumar Ballo now in the fold, Reneau is expected to continue logging major minutes at the four. Last season, Reneau played primarily in the post with Ware’s ability to space the floor. Ballo isn’t a perimeter threat, so the Hoosiers need Reneau to operate more confidently away from the basket. He’ll also need to be able to defend fours reliably.
“I feel like the majority of my fouls were ticky-tack,” Reneau said. “So just not being the antsy one on the court where I’m swiping a lot and not getting those dumb fouls like that which is something I tend to do a lot.”
Reneau said the coaching staff has had him guard more guys on the perimeter this offseason to help him become more comfortable defending away from the basket. He’s also worked on his lateral quickness and staying in front as a defender.
Bottom line: Reneau is one of the most talented post-scorers in the country. He has exceptional footwork, knows how to get to his spots and showed off solid touch from the perimeter, too. He talked at length at media day that rebounding and fouls are the areas where he needs to improve in his third season and he’s capable of making significant gains in both areas. It won’t be a surprise if Reneau leads the Hoosiers in scoring this season and finds himself on one of the All-Big Ten teams come March.
Quotable: “Physically, he was committed to the workout, his eating habits, his body has changed. His summer play was pretty good and he’s playing pretty good basketball for us now. I hope it’s a nice carry over into when it really starts.” – Mike Woodson recently on Reneau’s development.
Media day interviews with Reneau:
Filed to: 2024-25 season preview, Malik Reneau
