Center Malik Reneau leads Mater Academy boys to final of Junior Orange Bowl tourney

Most coaches will always tell you basketball is a “team” game.

But anyone who watched Mater Academy put away Miami Schoolhouse Prep in Saturday night’s semifinal of the Junior Orange Bowl basketball tournament might be hard pressed to say it really was indeed all about one single player.

Even though he’s only a sophomore, Mater Academy center Malik Reneau already has offers on the table from FIU, Oklahoma State and Miami. A few more performances like Saturday night and more offers are likely to come flying in.

Reneau totally dominated from the opening whistle to the final buzzer to lead his Lions to a 69-54 victory over Schoolhouse at Palmetto High School, lifting Mater Academy into its first Junior OB championship game on Monday night.

The Lions (11-2), who have been knocking on the door to Lakeland for a while and suffered a heartbreaking three-point loss to Blanche Ely in last year’s regional final will take on Mount St. Joseph from Baltimore at 8 p.m.

Mount St. Joseph defeated Mount Lebanon (Pa.) 50-48 in the other semifinal.

How dominant was Reneau? When it was over, he had scored half of his team’s points (34) and brought down half of his team’s rebounds, 16 of 31. He also blocked four shots in his spare time as well.

“He’s the total package, just a multi-skilled young man who is so advanced for such a young age,” said Mater coach Shakey Rodriguez, who would be one to know having coached such great players in his heyday at Miami High in the 1980s and ‘90s. “He just has great hands around the basket and just a real knack and great feel for the game. He’s more than just an inside player, as you saw out there tonight. He can handle the ball, dribble, pass, so many facets to his game.”

Leading just 32-26 at the half, the Lions came out and put together a 14-4 run to open up a 46-30 lead late in the third and were never threatened from there.

Reneau literally put a slam dunk on his big night when he went up high on an alley-oop pass and nearly brought the backboard down with a thunderous dunk with 2:48 left in the game.

“We played well tonight and I give props to my team,” said Reneau, who said that UCF is also showing interest in him as well but that he intends to wait a while and “see what else comes in” before committing. “Good defense is what really got us going and when we do that, it helps create more things for me offensively. I just try and let the game come to me and if it does, I go to work.”