Indiana basketball: Malik Reneau could be the future for IU

One week until the Hoosiers tip off the season and our player countdown of the Indiana basketball roster continues with No. 7 on our list being freshman forward, Malik Reneau. Are we potentially looking at the future of Indiana basketball?

Malik Reneau | 6’9″ 233bs | Freshman Forward

Based on his performance in the exhibition game against Marian on Saturday, Reneau is absolutely the next great big man in Indiana basketball history. Without Trayce Jackson-Davis, Reneau started alongside Race Thompson in the exhibition game on October 29 and posted 14 points (team high), 11 rebounds, and shot 7-of-10 from the field. It’s a small sample size and not the best competition to stack up against, but Reneau looked like a beast out on the floor that could score the ball.

The 6-foot-9 forward is coming into Bloomington as the 29th-best player nationally from the 2022 class, including a top-five ranking of power forwards and the seventh-best player from Florida. Reneau played with now Indiana teammate, Jalen Hood-Schifino at Montverde Academy in Florida, where they led the program to back-to-back GEICO National Championships. Reneau averaged 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds as a senior at Montverde.

To have Reneau as a backup behind Jackson-Davis and Thompson is going to be very fortunate for Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers this season. His clear connection with Hood-Schifino will only grow as the two work together in Bloomington to prove themselves as two of the best freshman from the 2022 recruiting class.

Projected 2022-23 stats: 36 GP, 6 GS, 19.3 MIN, 6.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 56.2 FG%