Woodson was asked about Indiana’s frontcourt situation at Big Ten Media Days.
If you’ve followed the conversation around Indiana men’s basketball this past offseason or you’re just a dedicated fan of the program you know one storyline has been particularly prevalent:
The pairing of Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau in the frontcourt.
It caused some angst last year when Reneau was paired with Kel’el Ware, who could stretch the floor from the 3-point line on limited attempts. That’s not in Ballo’s skillset. It’s created an additional wrinkle in the roster makeup.
Asked how often he expects Ballo and Reneau to share the court, Woodson was quick to interject with an answer:
“Don’t know,” Woodson said. “Only time will tell.”
In a follow-up, it was noted that Ballo hasn’t consistently played more than 25 or so minutes a game.
“And that’s plenty,” Woodson said. “He doesn’t have to play thirty minutes, not on this team. The fact that he’s played only 25 minutes… hey, we might keep him at that number.”
Additionally, Woodson was asked if playing the two together would allow him to run the offense he did with the New York Knicks, which emphasized floor spacing and the 3-point line.
He responded by saying it’ll depend on Reneau’s ability to step out and hit 3s even on limited volume at power forward.
“Can he consistently make some threes for us?” Woodson said. “If he takes two or three, can he at least make one?”
He went on to mention the potential of playing small, taking Ballo out of the game to put Reneau in at the five so guys like Mackenzie Mgbako and Luke Goode, both reliable shooters, can share the floor with either taking the four spot.
Myles Rice also mentioned seeing Reneau at the five when asked about small ball lineups during his media availability.
“Not trying to give up too much right now,” Rice said. “Trying to keep it a surprise for the season.”