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Week-by-week, Kaleb Banks, Cj Gunn, Jalen Hood-Schifino and Malik Reneau sat down with the packed Indiana media to comment on their initial workouts.

The latter two, Schifino and Reneau, present a different dynamic given their past history together and the unusual circumstances that led to them being teammates at Indiana. Both elaborated on their relationship and what it means to be Hoosiers.

“He’s a very unselfish player. He finds his teammates and gets shots for himself. He’s an all-around player on the defensive end. He can pick up the ball at 94 feet, he’s going to defend their best players, and he’s going to be a spark plug whether he’s starting or coming off the bench. He’s just a great guy to be around,” said Reneau.

That selflessness was evident at the Geico National Championships. Schifino had a badly injured hand that had swelled to the point where he couldn’t shoot the ball.

So he didn’t. He didn’t take a shot, facilitated the offense, and lead Reneau and Montverde to the National Championship.

The pair averaged nearly the same amount of points per game in their final year at Montverde, Schifino 11.9, Reneau with 11.7. With so many minutes played together on the same court, the chemistry between the pair have put themselves ahead of the curve in summer workouts.

“Malik’s a really good person, a great player,” Hood-Schifino said. “He works really hard, and I know his game really well. I know the coaches are going to get him right, he’s going to be locked in and have a big year.”

This duo isn’t your typical former teammate relationship. Schifino vouched for Reneau very, very hard after his de-commitment from Florida. He didn’t do the same for Skyy Clark when he de-committed from Kentucky, and hasn’t done the same for class of 2023 prospect KJ Evans or class of 2024 Derik Queen. This relationship seems to have spilled over off the court, which will do nothing but benefit them on the court.

“I was with him when he de-committed from Florida. As soon as that happened I texted my coaches, I was like we have to get on Malik. As soon as I said that the coaches got on ‘em and they did a great job recruiting him.”

Schifino was with Reneau when he made his visit to Bloomington, and he was with him when he announced his commitment to Indiana. Now, with both of them on campus preparing for the season, it’s time to see tangible results at the next level.

What will come of them this upcoming season is a mystery with such a loaded roster. But the season after, it’s hard not to think about an Indiana team led by that electric duo and not get excited. That’s what they have the ability to do.

We could possibly look back at this duo as two of the most important players that helped turn Indiana back into a perennial powerhouse.

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