Indiana men’s basketball officially announced its incoming freshman class on June 9 in a new number reveal video. The roster includes four scholarship players — five-star recruit Malik Reneau and four-star recruits Jalen Hood-Schifino, Kaleb Banks and CJ Gunn.
Reneau, Hood-Schifino and Banks ended the year in the 2022 ESPN 100 with rankings of 22, 24 and 78, respectively. Reneau is the No. 5 center, Hood-Schifino the No. 4 point guard and Banks the No. 11 power forward in the 2022 class.
Reneau and Hood-Schifino were high school teammates at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. Hood-Schifino signed with the Hoosiers in August 2021, but Reneau was committed to the University of Florida for the majority of the school year. Reneau later decommitted from the Gators, took an official visit to Bloomington and announced his commitment to the Hoosiers on April 18.
Reneau and Hood-Schifino were both named to the 2022 Jordan Brand Classic team, where they competed against and alongside the nation’s top recruits in a game in mid-April. They join former Hoosier Romeo Langford, current senior Trayce Jackson-Davis and sophomore Tamar Bates as recent IU Jordan Brand Classic honorees.
Banks attended Fayette County High School in Fayetteville, Georgia and received offers from many southern schools. He was a 2,000-point scorer in high school and was named the Georgia Class 4A Player of the year. He signed with the Hoosiers in July before his senior year.
Gunn is an Indiana-native, attending Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis. He was a finalist for Indiana Mr. Basketball and was recently named MVP of the Indiana-Kentucky All-Stars series. He was the first in his class to commit to Indiana, signing with the Hoosiers on February 7, 2021.
Hood-Schifino is a strong candidate to start during the upcoming season and might help senior Xavier Johnson handle some of the point guard responsibilities. His shooting will likely be able to make up for the loss of former starter Parker Stewart, who transferred to the University of Tennessee at Martin after the conclusion of the 2021-2022 season. Hood-Schifino has experience playing the primary 2-guard and secondary ball-handler positions and possesses the ability to take on a large offensive role in Indiana’s backcourt.
Reneau will likely be the first big man off the bench for seniors Race Thompson or Jackson-Davis. His 6-foot 8-inch, 215-pound figure adds a valuable asset to Indiana’s lineup in a center-dominated conference and gives the Hoosiers the ability to go big whenever they need to.
Reneau will add some much-needed depth to the 4 and 5 positions on the court and can keep Indiana in a strong offensive position if Jackson-Davis gets into foul trouble.
Indiana possesses the No. 8 recruiting class in the nation, according to 247 Sports. The Hoosiers are ranked No. 7 in Andy Katz’s Power 36 and hold 33-1 odds to win the 2023 national title, according to BetOnline.
