INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

January 28, 2023

Malik Reneau

Kaleb Banks

Postgame Media Conference

Indiana 86, Ohio State 70

Q. Malik, when you see a teammate like Jalen get off to the start he got off to, when the rest of the team was kind of struggling to score themselves, what does it mean for you as a teammate to kind of give you a little bit of a lift as you watch him go through a hot streak?

MALIK RENEAU: Well, he's on a hot streak, so on the bench, coming off the bench, just got to keep it up, support him, like everybody else, cheer him on, give him that confidence that he needs to keep performing how he is.

Q. Kaleb, you've had to be patient here for the last couple months for playing time and such. You obviously got an opportunity tonight and did well. What's it been like mentally during all this, putting in the work, talking to people? What's been going on that you were ready to play today?

KALEB BANKS: It definitely was a challenge. It got hard. It was hard, but I stayed ready, just stayed the course, and eventually like tonight I got a chance. I think I contributed well. That's about it.

Q. Malik, obviously you've known Fino for a long time. You guys were great teammates at Montverde. What is it about him when people say he has a professional approach? What do you see and how does that manifest itself?

MALIK RENEAU: Fino, he's ready to go at any moment, at any time. He prepares mentally, physically, and it's two or three days before the game time, he's in the gym, getting up shots, after practice, before practice. He's really prepared for when those games come to perform like he performed today.

Q. Kaleb, on the topic of you staying patient, working in practice, where do you feel you've developed the most just being a freshman this year in the past few months?

KALEB BANKS: One of the things that was holding me back was probably my defense for the most part. I think I really got better on defense, on the defensive end. Just learning how to switch, stuff like that.

On the offensive end, I've been shooting it well. I've been on and off with my shot. I think I'm starting to get my shot back, too, so I'm just progressing, day by day.

Q. Malik, we've asked a lot about what Trayce brings when he's playing really well, and it felt like tonight where Ohio State was determined not to let him have a game like he's had recently. What opens up around the rim for teammates when he's getting that much attention, when the defense is sort of that sucked into him?

MALIK RENEAU: Everything, everything opens up. Race gets a chance to post-up, I get a chance to post-up when they're double-teaming like that, shots get open, and everything just opens up when they start double-teaming Trayce, and it lets me and Race be able to isolate on the other side on the post-ups and stuff like that, get open threes, cuts and all that stuff.

Q. Kaleb, in your short time being Jalen's teammate, what is it that makes him so easy to gel with and what's the personality trait that makes him so able to lead this offense so well?

KALEB BANKS: Just by following his lead. You see him in the gym every day, it motivates you to do better for yourself. He's a great leader, and he's a great point guard. I mean, I try to follow his lead as much as I can, and so far I'm doing well with that.

Q. Malik, you've been playing at a pretty high level here the last week or two. What do you attribute that to? Do you feel like the game is starting to slow down for you a little bit, playing harder? How do you describe that?

MALIK RENEAU: Just calming down on the court, being calm when I'm out there, and just letting the game come to me. Yeah, that's pretty much it.

Q. Kaleb, talking about you getting to play tonight, in the first half you played like a man with his hair on fire, you were out there hustling, and Mike Woodson is famous for saying you have to make the most of your minutes, and you seemed like you were playing that way in the first half, and you wanted to play in the second half, which you did. Was that your mentality, hey, here's my shot and I've got to make the best opportunity of this?

KALEB BANKS: I mean, that definitely was my motivation. It was my shot. I had a feeling before the game that today was going to be the day, so I tried to make the best out of it, and I think I did well.