Q&A with Penn State's Latest Hoops Verbal: Houston Mallette

Houston Mallette isn't downplaying anything.

The 6-foot-5, 185 pound combo guard out of Pacifica Christian School in Newport Beach, Cali., had been enticed by the lure of playing for Penn State for quite some time. Eager for the opportunity to join the program's energetic and passionate culture, Mallette found a natural fit for his own personality and game.

Friday afternoon, he opted not to wait any longer.

Making his announcement via Twitter post, Mallette joined Patrick Chambers' quickly building Class of 2021 as its second member in a span of just five days.

Sunday, BWI editor Nate Bauer caught up with Mallette for a wide-ranging interview regarding his recruiting process, his game, and what's next:

BWI: What were your initial impressions of Penn State and the thought of playing on the East Coast?

HM: I love the East Coast. I'm the only person in my entire family who was born on the West Coast in California. My dad's whole family is from New Jersey and my mom's whole family is from Virginia. The closest person who lives to me in my family lives in Chicago. Growing up, my dad and I lived in Oakland and I lived there for about 15 and a half years before I moved down to SoCal. So all my family were East Coast people. My mom lives in Florida now, she was living in Maryland and St. Louis. We had a tournament for Under Armour in New Jersey and I mean I honestly loved it.

The weather here in Cali is amazing, beautiful, but the weather doesn't really change my mood about anything. I like being in the gym, being with people with a great culture. There's a lot of East Coast schools that don't recruit California, and I understand why because like a lot of Cali kids stay in California, but I'm a different kid. I'm open to options, anywhere. I want to go to the best place for me and the best place I see myself impacting the lives of others, and where I can become a much better person and a better student-athlete.

When did the relationship start?

HM: The first call to me was, I believe, in October of this year. And we started building a relationship. And then coach Keith Urgo, he came out to a practice and that's when they officially offered after that practice. Our relationship has gotten tighter and tighter. As time went on, I talked to Coach Urgo and Coach Chambers at least every other day through the phone, through texts. It's amazing. It's a great relationship and I appreciate it.

When I went on the visit (in December) it opened my eyes to what a very awesome environment is like, how passionate they are. And I considered a number of factors when making this decision, like the academic offerings of the institution, Coach Chambers and coaching staff, the great culture within the team, the leadership in athletics, the campus and student body, and the opportunity to play on a very high level against the best competition in the country. So while I was on my visit, I got to learn and see how things were run and I just fell in love with it.

With other programs like Villanova, Creighton and Florida State starting to show more interest in you, why did you decide to end the process now?

HM: That's a great question. Honestly, I'm a kid that I follow my heart. I listen to my heart. I had been praying on it a lot and talking with my family. I was truly in love with Penn State. I was in love with every single aspect of it and I had been feeling this way for a couple of months. And so when I kept breaking it down, I even built like a chart of the pros and cons of each decision I had on the table, and I couldn't get it out of my mind. I'm shooting outside because it's quarantine and there's not a lot of places to go, but I built this routine where I get up at like 4:30 in the morning for the past couple months, cutting out fast food, trying to put on weight, working out two or three times a day.

So when I worked out, I couldn't get this image out of my head of playing in the Bryce Jordan Center and playing in the practice facility with all the guys on the team. It was stuck in my head. When I'd go to sleep, I'd just have dreams about it and I knew I was really in love with it. When you love something, you know.

I'm a pretty ambitious kid and I'm pretty self-motivated so... I love those big schools and I appreciate all the other schools taking their time (to show me interest). It's a blessing. Not many kids have this opportunity to even go through this process, so I'm grateful for that. But once I knew, I knew, in my heart and my head, so I was very, very blessed about that.

What's the hallmark of your game?

HM: I pride myself on winning and intensity and toughness. I like bringing that to the floor because, especially along with Coach Berokoff, who is a very similar individual, we're tough-minded individuals, self-motivated, and we want to be the best. So when I talk about my game, that's what I pride myself on, anything I can do to win. In practice, film sessions, games. I love winning.

I'm committed to the game. I don't party. I don't hang out with a lot of friends all the time. I'm pretty much in the gym working out. It's something that I love. I'm a fighter. I have a very high IQ and understand the game at a high level. And I like to make my teammates better. I like to see guys succeed. I like to have an impact on others. That's something that's very, very, very important to me. I like seeing guys be successful and play at the highest level. There's a lot of responsibility with being a leader, but I pride myself on that responsibility, and I love that responsibility.

Are those characteristics what attracted Penn State to you in the first place?

HM: That passion. That toughness. I think I get a lot of that because my dad's a really tough individual, and Berokoff, my coach, is also a really tough individual. That's definitely something that attracted them, but also my length, I mean I'm 6-5, almost and a half, still growing right now. I went to the doctor a couple of months ago and they said you have about a year of growth still. That juiced me up.

But my size, I can shoot the ball pretty well. I'm efficient. I'm a passer. I rebound. I just like to make others better. There'd be games where I could have like 30 points and there'd be games where I had five points with 10 rebounds,15 rebounds, 13 assists. A lot of guys pride themselves on scoring, but I'm not a scorer. My most important qualities are my leadership, passion, excitement, enthusiasm and whatever is working, try to get to that and try to win.

Do you consider yourself a sleeper, or undervalued?

HM: With all these rankings, the older you get, if you have a ranking, it's important people try to come after you. If you're committed to a school, people try to come after you. I like that.

The game has kind of transformed. I would say there's not a lot of kids like me, who have that passion and that love and that enthusiasm and excitement for the game of basketball. And I fully believe in my heart that I'm the best guard in America. I'm the best guard in the world. And so when I go out there, that's what I'm trying to show that I want to be the best.

So when it comes to sleepers, I believe I'm better than a lot of guys. I have all these names written on this piece of paper, and so I'll go through them individually so when I play that kid through AAU, I know who exactly I'm playing against, I know what he does, I'm watching film on him. I guess you can call it kind of crazy, but it's something that fuels me. In my head, I'm thinking like, he thinks he's better than me, he's saying these things about me. So I just put even more motivation than I do on myself to even get better so I know going out there I would beat him.

A lot of kids say they're slept on, but I would say there's a lot of kids out there who don't have this passion and intensity, and I fully believe that I have that and I show that every single time I'm in practice, film session, shoot around, game. So, yeah, I would say I'm slept on in that regard. But it just motivates me. The thing that motivates me the most is scouting services have this person in front of me when I know I'm better than that person and I know I can be better than that person.

Will all of that translate into doing the extra work, like weight training, it takes to separate yourself?

HM: Yeah, that's definitely important. I would say, I'm not doing all that stuff because of the rankings. I'm doing that because one day I want to provide for my family, and I want to play at the highest level, and I want to be the best at the highest level. I don't know a lot of kids who are getting up at 4:30, whether that's dribbling, whether that's in the weight room, whether that's shooting, or watching film.

I'm up consistently at 4:30- 5:00 am every day trying to set a routine because, once you have a routine in place, you're good. It takes like 21 days to set, I believe the phrase is 21 days to set a habit, so once I'm in this habit, I just keep doing it and I like getting better. I love getting better, and I love making others better, so it will translate because my work ethic is extremely high. I pride myself on that.

What about your game on the floor, beyond the intangibles?

HM: I make others better, I would say, is what I do best. I'm a leader. I believe I can score the ball on a high level, efficiently. I shot the ball around 40 percent from three. I hit 82 of them this year in 27, 28 games. I averaged about 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, almost six assists. Whatever is needed, I pride myself on getting that job done. I take charges. This year I took 20-some charges. So just energy plays, I would say.

I can score the ball efficiently. I can rebound. I can pass. Just adding every single dimension in my game is important. I can play through the post. I need to get everything better. But I also believe I can do everything on a basketball court at a very high level. That's very important to me.

Is there something you think you do best, and is there one thing you feel most needs to improve before you get to Penn State?

HM: Most needs to improve, I'd say muscle mass. I'm actually about 185 now but I definitely need to get stronger and bigger because I'm going to be playing with grown men. It's the Big Ten, it's the best conference in America, so I need to get bigger and stronger.

My game needs a lot of work. I can get better. But I'm confident in all my abilities. I feel like the best thing I do, honestly, is I win. I know that's a weird trait, but I win. I can shoot the ball well. I'm efficient. I can pass the ball well. I think I averaged a turnover a game, like five-six assists to one turnover. I take care of the ball well.

Is there a player or players in the NBA that you most identify with or that you watch and try to emulate?

HM: My favorite player ever is Larry Bird. But I like taking pieces of everybody's game. Michael Jordan and Kobe from that competitive aspect, I draw a lot from. I love Jaylen Brown because I knew Jaylen Brown when he was in college. He's a great guy and a fantastic player.

Tony Carr. When I was on the visit, that's kind of what Chambers was saying, like my body and my build reminds him of (Carr). We're both 6-5ish, 6-6 almost, being long guards.

How are you holding up not being able to play competitive basketball right now?

HM: Yeah man, it's hard. I thrive on competition. I'm a competitive person in anything I do. I have a 4.0 right now in school. I try to get the best grades. I get pissed when I get a B. So when we're not playing basketball, it frustrates me because of the quarantine, playing basketball in a 5-on-5 setting. So I'll send a video of me making this many shots in a group chat and I want people to send it back and try and beat me because if they beat me, I'm going to send another one, beating them.

I'm making my competition for myself. I'm competing against pretty much myself because Southern California is locked down for the next few months. So it pains me being away because it's something you love to do, but it also gives me time to reflect on how I can get better in these different aspects of how I can succeed. I compete with myself.

If I'm doing this today, how can I get one percent better the next day? It's just trusting in the process because once quarantine's out, I know that I'm going to be ahead of a lot of guys because I know that there are a lot of guys not working out, and I know that there's a ton of guys working out.

How much are you looking ahead to getting your Penn State career started versus playing out your final season of high school ball next year?

HM: Yes. Both. I'm super excited to go to Penn State and Coach Chambers and my relationship is fantastic, Coach Urgo, Coach Freeman, the whole staff. I'm super excited to get there and start my career there. But right now I'm focused on winning this season. We lost pretty much our whole rotation because they were all seniors last year. Now it's like a whole new challenge, working with different guys. That's pretty much what I'm focused on right now.

I'm focused on, when I'm working out, all the tools I can use right now that'll help me with being at Penn State. Getting stronger, putting on weight, on all those things. The more I get ready for Penn State, the more I'm getting ready for the season. So right now I'm focused on my senior season and focused on winning. Winning, winning, winning, winning. Just trying to go out there and play my ass off every night and play my best. That's super important.

If I could open the floor to you, and you could introduce yourself or to tell fans like what's coming, what would you say to them?

HM: I would tell the Penn State fans and the family that they're gonna get every ounce and more of my passion, excitement, enthusiasm, leadership, competitiveness, that I can possibly give. They're gonna get all my blood, sweat, and tears. They're gonna get a person and a kid who will give it his all every single day. They're going to get a kid who's a winner, a fighter, someone who never quits and is going to keep his teammates and programs involved and make everyone better in practice, film sessions, and in the game.

You're going to get a kid who's committed to winning, and they're going to get wins and build a phenomenal program through Coach Chambers and the coaching staff and the rest of my teammates. We're gonna win.

I'm super excited. I can't wait. I'm really juiced.

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