Malik Reneau — 6-foot-9, 238 lbs
Senior | Miami (FL) | 23 years old
29 MPG | 19 PPG | 6.5 RPG | 2 APG | 2.8 TPG | 54% FG
With interior force, soft touch, and a bouncy second effort for put-backs/rebounds, Malik Reneau has value as a second-round pick who can potentially find his way in the NBA.
Reneau right now operates with his back to the basket or rolling to the rim. Not much of a face up game. The next step is facing up, not only to score but to read the floor and stay within the team offense.
The lefty will also need to develop his right hand.
Reneau heavily favors going left, whether it’s on a straight line drive, post up, or as a roller. Reneau’s tendency to force it left makes him predictable, limits his counters against length and even impacts his efficiency finishing on the right side, as he brings the ball back to his left hand and makes those attempts more difficult than they need to be.
That said, Reneau has professional-level size and strength, and a wide array of finishing moves that made him nearly unstoppable this year in college basketball. Not only does he have a soft touch, but he uses reverses and craft around the rim with his left hand. There wasn’t a game Miami played where Reneau didn’t capture his identity battling and scoring inside, using power and finesse. Stylistically, I see some flashes of former NBA player Trevor Booker.
He needs to extend his shooting range past 15 feet and face-up more, but a scoring arsenal is already apparent.
In terms of his defense, this evaluation doesn’t focus heavily on that side of the ball. Reneau showed as a solid post defender and held his own against bigger players, but he wasn’t often put in positions to guard in space, making it difficult to fully assess his defensive versatility. There were mixed results—some opposing bigs had strong performances (Trey Kaufman-Renn; Alex Condon and Reuben Chinyelu at Florida), while others (Malik Dia, RJ Godfrey, Henry Veesaar) were more contained, though in either case Reneau wasn’t the primary matchup for entire games.
This past season I scouted Reneau live vs. Virginia Tech. He finished with 9 points and 6 rebounds in 24 minutes, shooting 3-for-6 from the field. He actually exited the game with an injury and returned some time later. Even in a limited sample, his ability to carve out space and his around-the-basket scoring were apparent, although it wasn’t always consistent. I also saw him at the Portsmouth Invitational, where his inside activity and finishing at the rim were apparent again.
Let’s take a deeper look.
Strengths
Second Effort / Put-Backs
Finishing diving and rolling to the rim
Strong Finishes / Physicality / Interior Scoring
Examining his Passing and Turnovers
Reneau averaged 2.8 turnovers per game, but the film provides important context. A large portion of those came when passing out of double teams—often trying to force skip passes across the court—or from a loose handle in traffic.
The turnovers weren’t the result of selfish decision-making, but rather Reneau getting sped up. Tightening his handle and refining his processing against pressure will help bring his turnovers down.
Passing (Capable)
Turnovers (from double teams or skip passes)
Loose Handle
Areas for Improvement
Shooting
Limited range on his jump shot. Reneau barely looked to shoot mid-range jumpers, and his three-point shot is a work in progress. He shot 34.7% on 2 attempts from three, with most looks coming wide open. He did convert some, but both his shooting form and reliability need improvement. He’ll need to improve his range to stick in the NBA.
Free Throw Form (79% on 6 attempts)
Right Hand Development
Reneau heavily favors going left, in both deliberate and subtle movements, even when attacking the right side. He simply forces the ball driving left.
Additional film notes
Duck-In Seal
Flashes of using his wide body for effective positioning—possible area to expand