Indiana basketball vs. Morehead State: Who was the Hoosiers MVP?

In Monday night’s season-opening win against Morehead State, one Indiana basketball player stood out above the rest — freshman forward, Malik Reneau.

Stat line vs. Morehead State: 17 MIN | 15 PTS | 6/8 FG | 3/6 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 4 PF | 3 TOV

Reneau, a four-star freshman from Montverde Academy, provided a huge bump off the bench for Coach Woodson and the Hoosiers. Immediately from the time he entered, Indiana played like a different and more confident team on both ends of the floor.

From post moves against Division I defenders to bringing the ball up and making plays like a guard, Reneau showed that he’s a very versatile forward that needs to be on the court when it matters most.

As a freshman, not one of us Hoosier basketball fans can expect anything more from Malik Reneau as he learns the college basketball game and as he adjusts to bigger and better players as this season goes on. But for this to be the standard that Reneau sets right out the gate as a freshman, what more could Hoosier Nation ask for?

At some point, Indiana basketball fans are going to want to see Reneau fighting for a spot in the starting lineup to see more of the chemistry between him and high school teammate, Jalen Hood-Schifino. This might be one of the deadliest freshman duos in all of college hoops this season.

Now, serving as a backup to a guy that was named Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year and a consensus preseason All-American by nearly every major media outlet puts Coach Woodson in a sticky situation. Does Reneau steal minutes from Race Thompson? Can Reneau and Trayce Jackson-Davis play well together? How can Woodson get Reneau the most playing time possible as a bench player?