Michigan interim coach Phil Martelli walked away highly impressed with Indiana frontcourt duo Kel’el Ware and Malik Reneau.
And one particular aspect of the way IU utilizes Ware and Reneau stood out to the 46-year basketball coach.
“When I looked at them (Indiana), I thought they were a superior — not average — they were a superior interior passing team. … They put the ball in the position where (Reneau and Ware) could get buckets,” Martelli said Tuesday evening following IU’s 78-75 win over the Wolverines.
Reneau had 15 points against Michigan and he’s averaging 14.8 on the season in 27.6 minutes per contest. Ware had 13 against the Wolverines in just 24 minutes. He’s posting 17.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
Martelli and Michigan were keyed in on slowing the pair but ultimately couldn’t get it done.
“It’s a tribute to them, because the anticipation is (going into the game), they know where their bread is buttered,” Martelli said. “Overwhelming size, across the board.”
Now the challenge of dealing with Ware and Reneau belongs to Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl.
The Tigers come in as one of the best teams in the country at defending IU’s specialty — the 2-point shot (42.7 percent, No. 17). Indiana is making 57.6 percent of their twos (No. 22).
“This will be a very physical game on Saturday. Indiana coming out of the Big Ten has two dominating post players,” Pearl said on Thursday. “Those two guys, Indiana has the best front line in the Big Ten. We’d like to think we have one of the best front lines in the SEC, so it’s gonna be a great matchup from that standpoint.
“A lot of your defensive schemes will be how to defend the post. They are going to get it in there, so what do you do when they get it in there. A lot of what we’re doing now is dealing with that. That’s your challenge all the way from your on-ball stuff to off-ball stuff, being able to make the adjustments to playing a dominating front line, dominating post offensive team. We may not play another team like that all year long.”
PEARL HAS INDIANA AND BOB KNIGHT CONNECTIONS
Pearl is originally from Massachusetts but he spent a decade coaching in the Hoosier State. He led Southern Indiana from 1992-2001. It was his first head coaching job after working in the Big Ten as an assistant at Iowa. He won a Division II national championship in 1995 at the Evansville, Ind. school that has now transitioned to Division I.
“I was there (in Indiana) when Coach Knight was there. I was watching Coach Knight, listening to his radio show and I was always impressed with how he communicated with the fans. He absolutely taught the game to the fanbase and he had more respect for the fans than the media. He would give the media such a hard time and barely answer their questions, and some random caller from Fishers, Ind. would call and he’d answer that question and break it down and I learned a lot by listening to him.”
Pearl’s first assistant coaching job was under Tom Davis at Stanford from 1982-86. There at the same time as a graduate assistant for the Cardinal program was Tim Knight, the oldest son of legendary IU coach Bob Knight. Pearl has said he got to know Bob Knight during that time.
Davis and Pearl went on to Iowa where he was an assistant coach for six years and faced IU many times.
“Indiana is a blue blood,” Pearl said. “What an opportunity for us to be able to play one of the blue bloods in college basketball. I say that with all due respect.
“Let’s take Indiana, North Carolina, Kentucky — their fans know the game. They knew the game because in high school, they played the game. There is a basketball rim or backboard on every light pole in the state, everybody’s backyard. As a result, the high school coaching is outstanding. The youth coaching is outstanding. The players are high IQ.”
Indiana and Auburn have only met once — and that was in Pearl’s first year at Iowa. Indiana defeated Auburn 107-90 in the second round of the 1987 NCAA Tournament — on their way to the national title. Iowa finished that year third in the Big Ten (14-4), a game behind first place Indiana and Purdue.
A trip down memory lane 🙏
For @coachbrucepearl, it will be an honor to take the court with Indiana. pic.twitter.com/7gcE3uP78M
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) December 7, 2023
Here is Pearl’s full pre-Indiana media availability, via Opelika-Auburn News:
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