We have seen some great in-season tournaments in the past (Battle 4 Atlantis, Maui Invitational, etc.), but the Players Era Festival has simply taken things to another level. Last year’s debut featured 8 teams, but this year there is an 18-team field featuring some of the best teams from the best conferences in the country. It is taking place this week in Las Vegas, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage from Sin City with an interview of Wes Mallette, whose son Houston plays for Alabama.
Your son Houston originally committed to Penn State before beginning his college career at Pepperdine, where he was a 2-time team captain: what makes him such a good leader? He cares about all the right things: his teammates, his coaches, and doing the job the right way. He cares about the small details and winning the margins. He is a young man who wants to make his team better, which is why he chose to wear #95: 95% of the time the ball is not in your hands, so what are you going to do to affect your team in a positive way? He is a “we” guy, not a “me” guy. In a game like tonight against Alabama where he did not score at all, he only cares if his team wins. He has scored almost 1400 PTS in college and has had an unbelievable career. Leadership is not about managing but rather getting people aligned: they must follow the direction together to get where they need to be. He is 1 of the highest IQ kids on the floor: the plays he makes on/off the ball reflect a high understanding of the game. At age 9 he was watching YouTube videos of Magic Johnson/Doctor J and studying what they were doing. Growing up in the Bay Area, he got to watch Steph Curry from a young age: it was rough at 1st, but then the Warriors started rolling.
Why did he decide to transfer in 2024, and what made him choose Alabama? Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar was relieved of his duties right before the WCC tourney that March. There are 2 things in life that nobody says: “San Diego sucks” and “I hate Lorenzo Romar”! He is a world-class human, so when Houston heard the news he was devasted, and he quickly decided to enter the portal to find a place that is more invested in basketball. We love the state of California, but it just does not compare to the SEC. In California the emphasis in on high school/pro sports. We all go through the problem of how to get fans to come to our games…but that just does not happen in the SEC. I took my daughter to the “Real SC” game earlier this month, and afterward she mentioned that it is nice to not have to force people to cheer! 77 schools called him/me/his coach within the 1st 4 hours after he entered the portal. We put together a grid: all the things that he wanted were on the X axis, and all the schools that called were on the Y axis. We quickly narrowed it to 8 schools based on a variety of factors: culture, coaching, the opportunity to compete at a high level, academic support, etc. He is working on his master’s degree, so he is not just there to play basketball. We have a “good humans only” policy. We also looked at all the little things: sports medicine, how do you travel, etc. We had a relationship with Alabama assistant coach Preston Murphy when he recruited Houston to Creighton as an assistant to Greg McDermott in 2018, which meant everything. There were some ACC/Big 10/SEC schools in the Final 8, but they knew that Houston is more than just basketball. I tell him that THROUGH basketball he will see the world but BECAUSE of basketball he will change the world. He grew up on the Berkely campus when I worked there and I have video of him at age 10 trying to guard Jaylen Brown: I will release it someday. I also introduced him to Jared Goff, who took the time to go back into the locker room to give him a signed football, which he still has to this day. He watched those college stars and all the other players at Cal, so from a young age he knew what being a power-conference athlete was supposed to look like. I already had a relationship with Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne from his time at Arizona, and I knew Preston/Player Development Coordinator Christian Pino: they are just a bunch of quality humans. I was in Vegas at the Big West tourney with UC-Riverside while Houston was at the WCC tourney, so we did a zoom with them. We lost our game, and I went home that night, but 12 hours later Houston said that he wanted to visit the campus…and 6 hours later we were in Tuscaloosa…and 6 hours after that he told me that he wanted to go there. Their head trainer and strength and conditioning coach helped rebuild his knees after he averaged 32+ MPG for 3 straight years at Pepperdine. They got him healthy, and he has put on 25 pounds of muscle since he arrived. He loves all his coaches, especially Nate Oats. I told him that his 1st recruitment was when he committed to Penn State, then #2 was when he chose Pepperdine, and this was #3. When he talked to Coach Oats and his staff, he loved their energy level/basketball acumen. It is a fun offense to play in, and it will build him for a pro career so how could he say no?!
He was planning to sit out last season, but after Latrell Wrightsell Jr. injured his Achilles tendon, Houston replaced Latrell for 6 games before suffering his own season-ending knee injury: what did you think of the decision to “burn” his redshirt, and how is his health doing now? He told me that he has never felt better thanks to all the trainers/staff. When Latrell got hurt here last year in this very arena, I felt so bad for him: he transferred here from Fullerton in 2023, so we were used to seeing him in California. The way he went down, I felt that it could have been his Achilles…and soon after that I realized that Houston would have to burn his redshirt. However, our family has a selfless approach. If you watch his press conference after the UNC game, he said that a lot of kids are only focused on what is best for them, but what is best for me is to get out there and be a good teammate. He played very well for the next few games, and I started to get texts from fans begging him to keep playing! The people in Alabama cared about his health: nothing is ever guaranteed, but I trust their staff. He is not trying to game the system: he does things the right way, and it pays off.
Last May his medical redshirt was granted, which allowed him to return for 1 final season in Tuscaloosa: did you think it was going to happen, and what was your reaction when you got the good news? I am so thankful that he got the medical redshirt. It is such a joy as a parent to hear everyone praise him for being a good human. At the end of the day, winning is important…but it is not the most important thing in the game of life. Our family had to overcome some challenges: I was a single parent, so it was not easy for him when he was younger, but I always told my kids that I would invest in them. Once they found their passion, I told them to follow it, and by age 9 I could tell that he was going to be a good basketball player due to his work ethic/commitment. A lot of kids want to be great, but to get to this level you must put in 10,000 hours. Last October at SEC media day he mentioned that 2024 was the biggest year of growth in his life: he became a sponge and had to figure out how to help his team.
Last July you were named Deputy AD/Chief Marketing Officer at South Carolina: how is the new job going so far, and who do you root for when the Gamecocks face Alabama?! I LOVE South Carolina. We have a great athletic director in Jeremiah Donati, and I love being 1 of his lieutenants. It is nothing short of awesome and feels great to be in a place that cares so much. I am new to the school but have a lot of years under my belt in this business, so I help the coaches as part of a great leadership team. You do not find that everywhere, but they have a lot of very good humans. On February 14 when we travel to Tuscaloosa it will be the quietest that people have ever seen me because I do not cheer against my son OR against my school! Cuonzo Martin told me a long time ago that it is different when it is your kid. I told Shane Beamer about it: it is wonderful to see his father Frank’s pride at the press conferences when he sees what his son is doing. I think Houston is the model student-athlete, but I am not saying that just because he is my kid. The way I have heard other athletic directors/coaches talk about him makes me so proud.
1 of your previous jobs was VP of Communications for the Pac-12 Network: how did you like it, and why did the network end up not working out? I loved my roles at Cal/UC-Riverside and at the Pac-12 Network. It is frustrating/sad because that did NOT have to happen: it was completely avoidable…but is more of a 3-4 beer conversation! In terms of where it is now under Commissioner Teresa Gould’s leadership, they are rebuilding the brand, and it will be successful. However, seeing a 100-year-old conference go by the wayside was tough. I enjoyed the folks I worked with, both at the conference and with all 12 schools. Just look at how some of them are doing in the ACC/Big 10/Big 12.
He is a career 38% 3-PT shooter/81% FT shooter: what is his secret for being a great shooter? Reps! He also watches films, stays focused, and studies the game. It is a relentless pursuit to be the best player he can. There was a high school tourney in Corona Del Mar during his junior year where he made back-to-back buzzer-beaters in the 1st 2 games, but his team lost the 3rd game to Mater Dei by 40 PTS. It was a holiday weekend, and it was a very quiet ride home. After we got back he called 1 of his trainers, ate a quick dinner, and then he went to 24-Hour Fitness and ran through a 2½ hour training session that did not end until 1AM. I told him that I needed to go to bed but we stayed another 20-30 minutes after that brutal loss. THAT was the point when I realized that he was going to make it.
In addition to 3 tough games at the Players Era Festival, Coach Nate Oats has 1 of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation (including St. John’s/Purdue/Illinois/Clemson/Arizona): are you in favor of that because it gets them battle-tested for SEC play, or do you think they would be better off facing some mid-major teams that they would be more likely to beat? I cannot speak for Alabama, but when I was at UC-Riverside I told our coaches to schedule as hard as they possibly could in non-conference play because it would prepare them for conference play. You must think past your conference tourney into mid-March when you are facing a big-time team in the NCAA tourney. You need to prepare for that in November because if you schedule cupcakes and go 11-0, you could still get dusted in conference play. We were not afraid of losing and played to win by being willing to play anyone/anywhere/anytime.
You were a 2-sport athlete at JMU (football/track and field), and your daughter Soledad plays basketball in high school: who is the best athlete in the family? One of my brothers played football at Princeton and his wife ran track at Princeton. Three of their four boys have played or are playing college football: one played at Northern Illinois, one started at Iowa and is now at Drake, and the youngest will play at Howard this fall. My oldest brother rowed crew at Harvard. But, Houston has already gone the farthest and is the most prepared for the next level: the pro level. I was the fastest of all of us (4.5 and sub-4.5 40s back in the day) but my mom was probably the best athlete. She just turned 90 and played basketball in her teens. Back then, girls in sports was not what it is today, and if she had a chance to play in the modern era, I have no doubt she would be one of the best players in the country! But Houston is the most successful of anyone in the family AND he is the best video gamer!
Any predictions for the Tide this week? I am not 1 to make predictions, but what I love to see with all the teams we play on is their growth and how they will rebound the next day. I think the Tide will be fine: the SEC is a gauntlet and there are no off-nights. This team will be prepared to make a run into late March: they do not even have everyone back yet. I am glad my son is having a great experience and can help change the outcome of games: it is a lot of fun being his dad right now.
