Everything looked easy for freshman forward Malik Reneau at the beginning of the season.
Indiana men’s basketball already had a star forward, and it suddenly looked to be developing another highly touted recruit. Reneau was where he needed to be, beginning his career with a 15-point outing and earning his first career start just four games later against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
But after that start, the 6-foot-9, 233-pound freshman struggled with the growing pains of college basketball. After scoring double digits in four of his first five games, Reneau went 14 straight games with less than 10 points.
The last two games, something appears to have clicked for Reneau. Now, as Indiana is in the thick of conference play and the midst of a five-game winning streak, Reneau is having an emergence.
“(I’m) just calming down on the court, being calm when I'm out there,” Reneau said after Indiana’s victory against Ohio State on Saturday. “Just letting the game come to me. That's pretty much it.”
Reneau had his best offensive performance by far on Saturday, setting career highs with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. For good measure, he even knocked down his second career 3-pointer as time ticked down late.
Reneau returned to the basics, using his size and relying on his teammates’ misses to grab boards and put back layups.
“He did have a lot of cleanup where Trayce missed some monies and he was able to tap them back in,” head coach Mike Woodson said. “Malik has got a big body, and I'm on him a lot about using his body because he is talented enough to do that.”
In Indiana’s win against Xavier University on Nov. 18, when Xavier collapsed down low on senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, Reneau was right beside him to help out and clean up. Beside Jackson-Davis' 30 points, Reneau put up 12, and the two looked like the post combo out of hell.
“Malik, for how young he is, he’s so mature as a player,” Jackson-Davis said after the game. “He’s a matchup nightmare for teams. He has a great feel for the game, especially in situations with IQ and awareness.”
Reneau’s own response to his success that night, against a team now ranked No. 16 in the nation, was simple.
“They’re too worried about Trayce,” Reneau said.
Reneau lost some of that court awareness as the Hoosiers took on more high major opponents, occasionally appearing lost on the court. He was pulled early against the University of Arizona after committing two turnovers in three first half minutes and turned the ball over four times in 15 minutes against Kennesaw State, a game in which he earned a start.
His playing time grew more limited as he struggled with fouling on defense, often playing less than 15 minutes a game. Against Iowa, despite senior forward Race Thompson leaving early with an injury, Reneau clocked just six minutes and recorded a scoresheet devoid of numbers besides three personal fouls and two turnovers.
Reneau leads the team in personal fouls despite being eighth in average minutes played. Saturday, however, he played four strong minutes with four fouls to his name, and his previous two appearances have been similarly positive. Reneau recorded only one foul in 12 minutes at Minnesota, and while he fouled out against Michigan State on Jan. 24, he played 22 minutes, his third highest total of the year.
As the game begins to slow down for him, Reneau is settling into his role as the supporting cast behind Jackson-Davis and Thompson. As he learned Saturday, Indiana’s offense gains a deeper dynamic when he plays that way.
“Everything opens up,” Reneau said. “Race gets a chance to post-up, I get a chance to post-up when they're double-teaming (Jackson-Davis) like that... and it lets me and Race be able to isolate on the other side on the post-ups.”
It’s unclear how long junior forward Jordan Geronimo will miss with a reaggravated leg injury, but if his absence is extended, Reneau’s role will only grow. He and Geronimo have been the main forwards off the bench, especially with sophomore forward Logan Duncomb now dealing with his second stretch of illness this season.
If Reneau continues to grow up for Indiana, it will make an already streaking team even deeper, especially with the return of senior guard Xavier Johnson on the horizon. Reneau’s blossoming will be tested again at 9 p.m. Tuesday in College Park, Maryland, as the Hoosiers take on the Terrapins.
