Is Malik Reneau the most important player for Indiana basketball this season? Given all the talk, he may very well be

Indiana basketball reshaped their roster this offseason and brought in guys that will help them improve from last year’s overall lackluster season. While the new guys they brought in get a lot of the praise, the returners that decided to come back to Indiana was the group that the Indiana basketball staff built around when attacking the transfer portal.

In what gets a little overlooked, arguably the most important decision that came out of the offseason for the Indiana basketball program was the return of junior power forward Malik Reneau. Besides Kel’el Ware, who was selected No. 15 overall by the Miami Heat, Reneau was arguably the brightest spot of the Hoosiers during last season.

As sophomore, Reneau made a huge jump from his freshman season after playing behind Indiana basketball standout Trayce Jackson-Davis. With a larger role, Reneau appeared in all 33 games for Indiana basketball, starting in all of them. He was the team’s second leading scorer averaging 15.4 points per while also adding 6.0 rebounds and 2,3 assists. He shot a real solid 55.8% from the field which included being the 10th best in the Big Ten Conference when it comes to scoring in the paint shooting 59.7% on 2s.

Getting that type of production back in this current era of college basketball is becoming more and more rare. When a player pops off like that, their options are typically either to go the professional route, or find a new school that they think helps them maximize their potential.

With how last season went for Indiana basketball, would anybody have really blamed Reneau if he went elsewhere? The great thing is, that didn’t happen and he was yet another example of the players having faith in Mike Woodson as a coach. Reneau quickly made the decision to come back knowing that there was more work to do if we wanted to take another jump just like he did between his freshman and sophomore season.

“He’s physically put himself in a better position to play at a high level,” Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson said at Big Ten Media Day. “I thought he made a hell of a jump from his freshman year to last year. You think about he didn’t play a whole lot of minutes (his freshman year) because he couldn’t stay out of foul trouble but he learned how to stay out of foul trouble and be on the floor and his numbers grew. We benefited from it.”

“Now physically, he has really committed to his workout and eating habits. His body has changed and his summer play was pretty good. He’s playing pretty good basketball for us right now so you hope it’s just a nice carry over when it really starts.”

More: National Analyst says there is ‘so much to like’ about this Indiana basketball roster

How will the pairing of Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo be best utilized for Indiana basketball?

Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Malik Reneau worked really hard in the offseason to improve his game even more. A big part of what Reneau needed to work on was becoming much more versatile as a player while shaping up his body to be able to play out in space a little bit more by becoming quicker and leaner for what that type of forward calls for.

We saw in spurts last season that Reneau was a capable of stretching the floor out and knocking down the three ball. Reneau shot a respectable 33.3% (15-of-45) from three and their is potential for him to improve that number even greater.

The thing is, he is going to have pretty much no choice but to do so right? When Indiana basketball went out in the portal, they had to find an elite big man to replace Kel’el Ware and they did that by snagging possibly the the best overall player in the transfer portal in Arizona senior center Oumar Ballo.

With Ballo however, you are getting a more traditional big than what Ware was. You will not see Ballo stretch the floor like Ware did and he will choose to use his God-given size and power to dominate the post. It puts much more pressure for Reneau to play more out in space that way the paint is not as clogged as we have seen in Mike Woodson’s system in previous years.

The question remains, just how much will we see both Renau and Ballo on the floor together?

“Don’t know. Don’t know. Only time will tell,” said Mike Woodson.

“Well right now we are still tinkering with different lineups,” Mike Woodson said when speaking to CBS Sports College Basketball. “I know I can play two bigs together. I’ve done it in the past. Race Thompson, Trayce Jackson-Davis. Malik (Reneau), (Kel’el) Ware. I know that I can do that. I know Ballo and Malik can coexist without a doubt. I’m trying to break it up and do something a little bit different. Kind of how I played in New York a little bit.”

“Malik, I know can play some five. We got LT (Langdon Hatton) who can also play some five. So I really got a three big man rotation if I need to use that. So I got different ways to go but I am still in tinkering mode.”

Mike Woodson has made it pretty clear that he wants to go smaller this season when it comes to his lineups. After three years of mixed results from playing through a giant frontcourt, it was time for the Indiana basketball head coach to make a change.

The successful college basketball teams you see nowadays play with a smaller lineup. Indiana has the players to do so this season with both returning sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako and Illinois transfer Luke Goode being able to play in the frontcourt when the Hoosiers go small ball.

For Indiana basketball to have success with both a smaller lineup and with Ballo and Reneau in the frontcourt, it almost entirely comes down to the third-year power forward out of Miami, Florida.

“A lot of it is going to depend if Malik can step out,” Woodson added. “Malik has been playing out on the floor a lot from this summer’s play up until now. Can he consistently make some threes for us? If he takes two or three of them, can he at least make one?”

“He can still play in the hole some when we take Ballo out and play some five and we can really go small with Mack (Mgbako) and Goode playing together because they are our two best shooters right now.”

Related: Indiana Basketball Returner Focus: Junior Forward Malik Reneau

Malik Reneau knows that his teammates need him at a high level this season

Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Malik Reneau is going to be a major factor and key with how much success Indiana basketball is going to have this upcoming season. As you saw in the previous two years, when Reneau is on the floor, really good things happen.

It is no secret, Reneau plays with a lot of passion on the floor, but sometimes that passion can overtake his ability to make smart decisions. Picking up those ticky-tack fouls and getting in early foul trouble does this team no good and Reneau has really struggled in that area.

It’s just the little things with Reneau that can be his downfall on the floor at times. However, Reneau came into this offseason knowing that he needed to work on becoming smarter as a frontcourt player.

“Malik is a special talent, and everyone knows that he is special,” said senior guard Trey Galloway at Big Ten Media Days. “The way he can play and it’s just all about the little things with him, and he knows that. That’s one thing he has really been trying to focus on this offseason.

“Just fixing those little things because the sky is the limit for him. He’s done a really good job this summer getting his body right and really trying to focus on staying in shape because there were a lot of times where he would get tired and their would be a lack of discipline.”

“Even him just saying he wants us to hold him accountable as well that was one thing I saw because that is hard for someone to say when obviously you want to be better.”

Reneau even taking the initiative to be held accountable was already a step in the right direction. He knows that he is obviously a very talented prospect and perhaps even the most talented big man in the Big Ten. Him recognizing that he had to get better in certain areas of his game shows you that he was not satisfied with the big jump he made last season.

Reneau wanted to get better and become more relied on from his Indiana basketball teammates.

“He’s a special player, man,”: said transfer guard Myles Rice. “He has unbelievable touch around the rim. I know when we need a bucket we can throw it down there and he can go get us one.”

“He’s just a special player and I am happy to be playing alongside of him.”

So when you look at the jump he has made, how he might play alongside Oumar Ballo, and how much his teammates are going to rely on him….is Malik Reneau the most important player for Indiana basketball this season?

It is a tough question to answer because even with the facts and questions given, you still cannot make a strong case one or another until you see what the product is going to be on the floor this season.

One thing is for sure however, Reneau is going to be a major key for the Hoosiers this season. In a lot of games, the Hoosiers will go as Malik Reneau goes.

He has all the tools to have a special season this year and if he does, that likely means Indiana basketball will also have a special season.

“My great year is being able to pass out of the double, not fouling as much, being a facilitator, dominating down low, and shooting the three ball really well,” Reneau said at Indiana basketball media day a few weeks ago.

“It’s super important (to stay on the floor) for my team. It’s been emphasized playing high minutes. Being able to be the guy they rely on and not fouling. Being able to stay on the court for my teammates and making a true impact on the court is extremely important.”

SEE ALSO: Five takeaways from Mike Woodson’s media day discussion on the upcoming season for Indiana basketball

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