Hood-Schifino, Reneau Shine in First Game Together at Indiana
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana freshmen Jalen Hood-Schifino and Malik Reneau already have done a lot of great things together on the basketball court, and if their first appearances for Indiana are any indication, they're going to keep that up in Bloomington.
The former Montverde Academy teammates that won back-to-back high school national titles at the Florida school were in the starting lineup when the Hoosiers opened their 2022-23 season with an exhibition game against Marian, an NAIA school from Indianapolis. The Hoosiers won 78-42, with the Reneau and Hood-Schifino leading the way.
The two freshmen friends were exceptional. Reneau, a 6-foot-9 left-hander who started because senior Trayce Jackson-Davis (hand) was held out, scored 14 points and had 14 rebounds. Hood-Schifino started at guard and did great, scoring 11 points with four assists.
"He plays like a vet, like he's been in college for a while,'' Indiana junior Jordan Geronimo said of Hood-Schifino. "He plays at a great pace. He knows when to take shots, take good shots. He knows when to pass the ball and he passes the ball really well. He plays like he's been in college for a while, you know what I mean, but he's only a freshman, so that's really impressive to see as a junior.''
Indiana coach Mike Woodson was pleased with Saturday's exercise, commenting on how much he liked the way Indiana played defense — Marian shot just 25 percent from the floor — and how Hood-Schifino and Reneau already look very comfortable.
"They are so in tune with what we are doing. That's valuable,'' Woodson said.
There's a reason for that. They played together at the best prep school in the country, and are used to traveling the country playing top-flight talent. Woodson — and their IU teammates — have been impressed with how college-ready they are. Reneau was so dominant inside that he had a double-double after just 14 minutes of playing time.
"I look at Jalen and Malik, and they came out of a system in Montverde and that coach is a damned good coach, and he pushes guys to play hard and do the right things on both ends of the floor,'' Woodson said. "I think the transition for them coming in, especially for Jalen, has been easy for him because the kid works.
Malik, I thought tonight, was fantastic. He did a lot of good things defensively. He rebounded the ball, and we know he can score the ball. So, it was kind of nice, starting those two guys for the first time at the college level, I thought they passed with flying colors tonight.''
The Hoosiers, who are ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press preseason poll, did a lot of good things all day, which was expected. Race Thompson, who's worked hard on his perimeter shooting since Woodson arrived at Indiana in 2021, hit all three of his three-point attempts.
"That makes me feel good because when I came in, I was told he couldn't shoot threes, that you didn't want him shooting threes, you didn't want him handling the basketball,'' Woodson said. "And now, he's a player. He's a basketball player now, which is kind of nice.''
Logan Duncomb, who played sparingly last year as a freshman, had a double-double himself. The sophomore from Cincinnati ''had a big smile on my face,'' after his outing, his first extended minutes at Indiana. He's put in a lot of work to get better this summer, and it translated to the floor on Saturday.
"He's putting in work but he's got to work more, and I'm on him about that,'' Woodson said. "Tonight, I told him after the game and in front of everybody that I was just so proud of him because he's hung in there with me and he's caught a lot of hell, and he responded.''
The Hoosiers have another exhibition game on Thursday against St. Francis and then open the regular season on Monday against Morehead State. Woodson didn't give a time-frame on when Jackson-Davis and sophomore Tamar Bates might be ready to play. But were dressed in suits on Saturday.
Still, it was a good first day for the Hoosiers.
"Yeah, this is the first step in a long journey and to go out here and do what we've been working on doing for five months, just do what we've been doing in practice and win this game, it's the first step in a long journey of the season.''
Related stories on Indiana-Marian game
- THOMPSON SHOWS VERSATILITY: Indiana forward Race Thompson scored 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks, including a 3-for-4 night from 3 during Indiana's exhibition game against Marian on Saturday. CLICK HERE
- WATCH MALIK RENEAU DUNK: Indiana freshman Malik Renau had 12 points and seven rebounds at halftime against Marian and also had a huge dunk. Watch the highlight here. CLICK HERE
- JACKSON-DAVIS, BATES OUT: Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis and guard Tamar Bates won't play in Saturday's exhibition game against Marian University. CLICK HERE
