2 IUBB + 2 IUWBB Players Who Deserve More Love

Valentine's Day may be in the rearview mirror, but that does not mean we are done handing out some flowers to some under-appreciated Hoosier hoopers. And while the stereotype may paint ladies as the only ones who enjoy receiving flowers, we have a few rose pedals to give out on the fellas side as well. With that in mind, here are two players for both the Indiana men's and women's basketball teams who deserve more love as we proceed past the annual day of hearts.

Chloe Moore-McNeil | IUWBB | Senior | Point Guard

Moore-McNeil is the oil that keeps everything running smoothly on both sides of the ball for Teri Moren's ball club. On offense, the southpaw does an excellent job of getting into sets and initiating the attack. Her 4.8 assists per game are a team-high by a sizeable margin, and her mere 1.9 turnovers per game display her ability to avoid unnecessary mistakes. CMM's point of attack defense has also been critical for a mostly subpar team defense, as she leads the team in interceptions (1.4 steals per game) and is realistically the only viable option (props to Lexus Bargesser for her efforts) who stands a chance at containing Caitlin Clark when Iowa comes to Bloomington for a rematch in a few days.

While her offensive orchestration and defensive acumen have been essential, her enhanced shooting stroke has been what has stood out the most as far as her game goes in 2023-2024. After hitting just 33.7% of her 3.1 three-point attempts per game a season ago, she is all the way up to 43.5% on 2.9 attempts per game this year.

Give this lefty lady some love.

Sara Scalia | IUWBB | Senior | Shooting Guard

Scalia has been among the top 5-10 players in Big Ten women's basketball this season, yet you never seem to hear her name mentioned in any type of WNBA draft discussions. The 5'10" Minnesota product has been a high quality Robin from outside to Mackenzie Holmes's Batman on the inside this season. Her shooting stroke (hitting a career-high 44.6% of her 7.4 attempts from downtown) attracts massive amounts of gravity, opening up mountains of space for her teammates to work with.

She is not the most athletic of hoopers, but Sara Scalia has a WNBA-ready jumper. Give this woman some attention.

Trey Galloway | IUBB | Senior | Combo Guard

With so much going wrong in the final season of Xavier Johnson's NCAA career, it has at least been refreshing to witness Trey Galloway's growth as both a player and a leader in his final collegiate campaign. While he has always been more of a 2-guard throughout his tenure at Indiana, this year we have bore witness to his ascension as a full-fledged lead guard. His 4 assists per game may not leap off the page, but his ability to create for his teammates has been quietly critical to a team that has lacked much (any?) offensive juice from it's perimeter threats.

Galloway will never go down as one of the all-time greats, but he will always have a place in the hearts of Hoosier faithful. He gives it his all each and every night, and always puts the team before himself. Plus, he has had some big nights this season when his team has needed them most.

Put some respect on this man's name.

Malik Reneau | IUBB | Sophomore | Power Forward

There is an easy argument to be made for Reneau being Indiana's best player this season, yet he is never really mentioned on any draft boards and/or in any draft buzz. While he definitely has some NBA characteristics, it is his frontcourt mates Kel'el Ware and Mackenzie Mgbako who are most often tied to the upcoming 2024 NBA draft (for good reasons). Regardless of uncertainties connected to his post-collegiate career, there is no questioning his NCAA dominance in 2023-2024.

He has been available in every game, leads the team in scoring (16 PPG), serves as a secondary playmaker AND small-ball center (a lot), and has flashed a never before seen ability to splash outside shots at an efficient rate (35.1% on 1.5 attempts from outside this season compared to 25% on 0.2 attempts from distance last season). We are not saying he is the next Julius Randle/Zion Williamson, but give the lumbering lefty some love.