To say it has been an up-and-down season for the Indiana Hoosiers would be an understatement. Whether it be injuries, shooting struggles or a laundry list of other roadblocks, it has been difficult for this team to build a consistent sense of cohesion.
But while the broader team has not been able to put all of the pieces together, that is not to say that some of the individual players have not done their part. In fact, some have clearly pulled more than their weight to the extent of picking up the slack for some of their struggling court mates.
Here are the current player power rankings for the Indiana men's basketball roster.
Hoosier Hierarchy: 1-5
1. Malik Reneau
Where would IU be without Reneau? Flash back to the team's December 29th victory over Kennesaw State, and your answer should quickly translate to something along the lines of "lost".
The bouldering big man has been an absolute beast for Mike Woodson thus far in 2023-2024, and is currently leading the team in scoring. The sensational southpaw, who was largely overshadowed prior to the start of the season by the arrival of new teammates Kel'el Ware and Mackenzie Mgbako, has been IU's most consistent player through the first 14 games.
2. Kel'el Ware
Ware has tapered off a bit since a strong start to the season, but he has been in the team's top two with Reneau all year. His frontcourt friend may have surpassed him in the power rankings for the time being, but a strong performance in the team's disappointing defeat at Nebraska (20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 stocks on 9-12 shooting) could indicate a shift in his trajectory.
The seven footer is still the Hoosiers' top NBA prospect, but they will need him to shore up his streakiness moving forward in order to achieve success.
3. Mackenzie Mgbako
Mackenzie Mgbako is starting to figure things out. His awful front end of the schedule raised a lot of red flags, but he has obviously grown through those deficiencies. Shooting was his calling card coming into the current campaign, and he has shot 40% (14-35) from deep since the dawn of December. They will need him to sustain his success rate from outside as his confidence continues to climb.
4. Anthony Walker
Anthony Walker has flat out been balling for this team. The senior has been an indispensible cog off the pine for the coaching staff, and has been the steadiest source of positive minutes from the bench mob (perhaps even the only steady source of positive minutes from this group during Xavier Johnson's DNPs).
5. Trey Galloway
Galloway has done some nice things for the Hoosiers in 2023-2024. His career night against Kansas stands out as the greatest individual memory to date in the senior's four-year tenure at Indiana, but that performance has been an outlier in an otherwise underwhelming campaign. He received praise for his table-setting (leading the team in assists) in the prolonged absence of Xavier Johnson, but has also been met with criticism from his head coach following the return of his fellow senior guard.