Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau’s ultimate scoring tallies had been unsurprising.
Indiana’s frontcourt pair mixed for 34 factors within the Hoosiers’ 106-64 win in opposition to Marian Friday night time at Meeting Corridor, however with the Knights’ tallest participant standing at 6-foot-8, Ballo and Reneau had been anticipated to dominate inside.
But, the 2 displayed one other aspect of their video games which will show integral to Indiana’s offense transferring ahead: passing. Ballo logged 4 assists — he by no means eclipsed three for Arizona final season — and Reneau dished out 5.
After Kel’el Ware departed to the NBA, coach Mike Woodson made a concerted effort to discover a worthy accomplice for Reneau. Whereas it’s troublesome to glean a lot from the outcomes of an exhibition sport, it’s abundantly clear the Hoosiers will lean on Ballo to fill that function.
“He performs good buddy ball,” Woodson stated postgame. “He and Malik are studying one another increasingly that they’ve been collectively.”
Ballo notched three assists in simply over the primary 5 minutes of play in opposition to Marian and displayed spectacular mobility. Woodson stated Ballo continues to be working to get into “tiptop form,” however he didn’t appear to face any difficulties operating the ground.
He wasn’t persistently relied upon to distribute the ball at Arizona; as an alternative, he dominated the boards and scored inside. Ballo averaged a double-double final season, scoring 12.9 factors and corralling 10.1 rebounds per sport.
“Ballo is confirmed,” Woodson stated. “He’s a double-double man… there’s a purpose we went after him arduous when he went into the portal.”
However now, the passing component opens a wholly new dimension for Indiana’s offense. Woodson and the Hoosiers’ gamers talked at size in current weeks a couple of want to play quick and emphasize fast possessions.
Within the 7-foot, 260-pound Ballo, IU has a cog within the paint that may demand heavy consideration from defenses and successfully cross out of these double groups. Whereas Ware and Ballo are vastly completely different gamers, the previous by no means reached the four-assist mark in his sole season in Bloomington.
By providing a comparable rebounding talent set and inside scoring presence to Ware, Ballo’s passing presents a world of alternative for Indiana’s offense.
“Brings a complete different degree,” redshirt sophomore guard Jakai Newton stated. “He’s a man that brings a lot consideration simply by himself. Him with the ability to kick the ball out to the open man, it’s essential for us.”
The centerpiece of the Hoosiers’ lauded switch class, Ballo was anticipated to masks his taking pictures deficiencies with intimidating shot-blocking prowess and a capability to overwhelm defenders within the publish.
He’s confirmed able to simply that by way of the preseason and with an array of viable choices on offense, Ballo doesn’t really feel the necessity to shoulder the load of scoring himself.
“It’s not nearly him considering he must demand the basketball,” Woodson stated. “He’s a superb workforce participant that does a whole lot of good issues in your workforce.”
In the meantime, Reneau is within the midst of the same ascension. He solid an at-times seemingly unstoppable partnership with Ware within the frontcourt final season and far of it could possibly be attributed to his imaginative and prescient.
Reneau, too, calls for additional consideration from defenses, and his capability to kick the ball out and discover open shooters has grown throughout his two seasons at Indiana. Final season, Reneau averaged 15.4 factors, six rebounds and a pair of.7 assists, turning into a focus of the offense alongside Ware.
The Hoosiers haven’t shot the ball nicely from distance by way of two exhibitions. They went 4-of-19 (21 %) from 3-point vary in opposition to Tennessee on Oct. 27 and Friday night time shot 6-of-25 (24 %) in opposition to Marian.
Regardless, Indiana totaled 33 assists and scored a whopping 70 factors within the paint. The second unit flashed upside, with freshman Bryson Tucker main all scorers with 19 factors and Bellarmine switch Langdon Hatton offering high quality minutes in reduction of Ballo.
Myles Rice excelled in Indiana’s first exhibition — scoring 20 factors on 7-of-14 taking pictures — and flashed the quickness in transition that promised to jumpstart Indiana’s previously stagnant offense. However by way of all of the adjustments, “buddy ball” will stay a spotlight.
“They each can cross the ball and so they each can rating down low and so they each can deal with the basketball,” Woodson stated of Ballo and Reneau. “That’s a pleasant mixture.”
Filed to: Malik Reneau, Oumar Ballo
