BLOOMINGTON — Indiana basketball needs the rest of its bench to embody Anthony Leal’s team-first approach in the coming weeks.

The Hoosiers lost starters Malik Reneau (ankle) and Xavier Johnson (arm) to injury in a 74-68 win over Iowa on Tuesday night that tempered the excitement in the locker room about snapping a three-game losing streak.

Leal came through with a series of clutch 3-pointers and knocked down a pair of free throws to close out the victory. The Bloomington South alum finished the game with a career-high 13 points.

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“This is a dream come true whether I'm playing one minute or 40 minutes,” Leal said, after the game. “Just to be able to put on this jersey is kind of my mindset and just the love for IU.”

Leal was a key sixth man for the Hoosiers against Iowa, but he’s been much further down the bench for much of the last two seasons. He’s only played double-digit minutes three times during that stretch — he didn’t play in nine games this season — but his commitment to the program never wavered.

It never impacted his effort at practice either and Indiana coach Mike Woodson was quick to bring that point up after the game.

“Where I come from in the NBA, you call that a true pro,” Woodson said. “And Anthony is the ultimate teammate, man, in terms of just hanging in there with me. And I've coached him and he's come to practice every day and has done what's asked of him and never complained, not once. He's been a true, true teammate.”

Woodson gave Leal the game ball, a distinct honor from a coach who doesn’t hand them out after every win.

“Guys like that, it's easy to coach,” Woodson said. “It's easy to throw them in the game and feel good about it because you know what you're going to get based on how he performs in practice. And he's earned the right to play, and that's why I'm playing him.”

Leal along with the rest of IU’s reserves could decide the team’s NCAA tournament fate if Reneau and Johnson miss extended time.

Woodson had shortened his rotation in recent weeks with Kaleb Banks and Payton Sparks playing reduced minutes. Anthony Walker and CJ Gunn have more prominent roles, but their minutes have seesawed back and forth at times.

Sparks and Walker each got starts when Kel’el Ware was out of the lineup with an ankle injury, but Woodson has relied on a three-guard lineup down the stretch in each of the last two games.

Indiana is on shifting ground and Woodson needs all of his reserves asking how they can help the team as Leal does.

“It's the next guy up,” Woodson said. “...Guys that have been sitting over there, hadn't played a whole lot, they've got to step in and help us win basketball games because that's what it's all about at the end of the day.”

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: IU needs more of Anthony Leal's 'true pro' spirit as injuries mount