Malik Reneau recalls the night that saw his two teammates from a season ago get drafted as an exciting one.
While in Indianapolis at Trayce Jackson-Davis' watch party, Reneau and others watched on as Jalen Hood-Schifino shook the commissioner's hand and put on a Los Angeles Lakers hat – the only team that ever featured Kobe Bryant, the player he grew up idolizing. His former Montverde Academy running mate and fellow five-star freshman had just fulfilled a dream.
His No. 17 overall draft selection would come 40 spots and some three hours before Jackson-Davis' name appeared on the bottom of the ESPN broadcast, selected to the Golden State Warriors. Just two years prior, newly-hired head coach Mike Woodson had convinced Jackson-Davis to return to school and hone his skillset, fine-tuning it for hopeful success at the next level.
Indiana, perhaps lucky, then benefitted from another year of his services after COVID protocols forced him to be limited in NBA Draft Combine action, ultimately leading to a return in Bloomington. Doubts with Jackson-Davis' game in a professional atmosphere were always vocalized, criticizing the lower usage of his right hand or absence of a jumpshot from his game while in college.
But he'd earned himself a well-deserved chance with the immensely talented skillset that Indiana revolved around. Now, the Hoosiers face the reality of life without him.
A potential hidden benefit? The opportunity for players like Reneau who, entering only his second season, projects to find himself in an elevated role on both sides of the ball. Such responsibilities require improvement and a refined skillset in what's sure to be a new-look outfit on the court this season. That's a challenge Reneau is willing to take on.
"Being able to do everything on the court," Reneau said Thursday when asked how he wants his offensive game to look this upcoming season. "I think this year I will be able to do that and show a lot more of my game. Being able to step out and shoot the three ball. Grab a rebound and push it. Just doing all the stuff that I’m used to doing and make it so I’m not making a lot of mistakes when I’m doing it.
"Pushing the ball in transition, posting up, shooting 3s. All of the stuff. I want to be able to show my all-around game."
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Reneau says as far as instruction from the Indiana staff, not much has changed. He still plans on being able to contribute the same ways he did a season ago, but expansions on his confidence and willingness to contribute more – whether it's taking more open shots instead of passing the ball off, helping out teammates and so on – are where he's being pushed.
"We’re still emphasizing posting up," Reneau said. "That’s still part of Woodson’s plan. We’re probably not going to post up as much as last year with Trayce. But we’re still posting up.
"It’s going to be a lot of ball screens and running up and down the court. Getting out in transition and getting easy buckets and stuff like that. So we’re trying to be a fast-paced team and get up and down the court and defend."
Though his sophomore status would generally suggest otherwise, Reneau is the elder statesman of Indiana's main projected frontcourt rotation – transfers Anthony Walker, Payton Sparks and Kel'el Ware all entering their first seasons at Indiana after pledging out of the transfer portal as Reneau begins his second. Replacing production from four starters and the rest of the contributors that are no longer there, whether by transfer, graduation or ascension to the NBA, is tough.
The personnel will be different, and the scheme could be too. The goal, however, stays the same.
"We loaded up pretty well," Reneau added. "You see a good fluid of where we are trying to go with ourfront court and understanding that we don’t have Trayce anymore, so we have to look somewhere else to find (production)."
Having spent two summers and a full season under Woodson, he's aware of the identity Indiana aims to portray revolves around defense and stifling opposing offenses while capitalizing themselves. Every player on the floor is expected to guard all five positions and crash the boards on every possession.
When Indiana did that a season ago, they often found success. When they didn't, the Hoosiers would be prone to flameouts – the same way they did in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. The motivation to improve fuels Reneau's offseason work, and it's an opportunity he doesn't want to miss.
"I've been in the gym working on my defensive side, really guarding the smaller guys when I switch onto them," Reneau said.
When switched into those situations by opponents last season, Reneau would sometimes resort to using his hands to defend against the quicker perimeter players in an attempt to keep them in front. The result, sometimes, would be a quick foul or two that would send him to the bench.
In just 14.9 minutes a game last season, Reneau averaged 2.5 personal fouls per contest. Regardless of minutes, the 2.5 foul/game mark was the highest of any Indiana player last season.
It's a problem Reneau is aware of, one he began to solve as he appeared to turn a corner in the second half of last season. The solution is simple: stop using his hands.
"Trying to defend and staying away from putting my hands on (ball-handlers) to avoid those ticky-tack fouls and stuff like that," Reneau continued about his defensive improvements. "So being aware of what I’m doing on the court and understanding that I can get ticky-tack fouls when I put two hands on."
Practices certainly look different with so many new faces around, but they're still as intense as ever. As a result of 15-minute scrimmages and consistent work, Reneau says his conditioning and pace is improving at a constant rate. His stints on the floor will be longer, and he'll need to be able to withstand periods of play with fewer breaks.
That's an emphasis in Reneau's training regimen this summer. Individually, Reneau's personal workouts feature all the elements that would suggest the all-around game he's hoping to showcase: rim running, catch-and-shoot 3s, trail 3s, dribble pull-ups and more. The mix, he hopes, will yield the fruits of his labor in the form of a boost to both his and Indiana's play on the court this season.
"...I’m trying to touch on everything."
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