Not following ‘The Mailman’
Hall of Famer’s son charts his own path to pro football tryout
On the same day that veteran Texans guard Jeff Allen was placed on the physically-unableto-perform (PUP) list, leaving his future with the team uncertain, would-be Texans rookie guard K. J. Malone received his first taste of what life will be like as a professional football player as the team’s rookie minicamp got under way.
This was, by all accounts, a coincidence. Malone’s famous blood lines notwithstanding, he’s far from being afforded the grave responsibility of helping protect Deshaun Watson from the sophisticated savagery of NFL defenses. The son of the Basketball Hall-of-Famer Karl Malone, signed as a free agent after he was passed over in the recent college draft, is barely in the crawling stage of his career. Walking, never mind running, will come later. By any measure, the 300-pounder from LSU is an intriguing prospect despite something of a mixed-bag college career, but the Texans will need two important questions answered, the sooner the better. Will he stay upright? Will he stay interested? Staying healthy the priority
Coach Bill O’Brien weighed in on the former Saturday, saying: “I tell (the rookies) on the first night that availability equals dependability. If you’re out there every day, you’ve got a real chance to show us what you can do. If you’re always in the training room, it’s going to be tough to make it.”
Only Malone, who missed the second half of his final year as a Tiger because of a knee injury, can speak to the latter. Although he considered giving up football before his senior season to pursue a career in police work, perhaps as a federal marshal — he had already completed his degree requirements — he insisted Saturday his knee is 100 percent OK and that he’s 100 percent in on trying to lock down a spot on the Texans roster.
“It’s a blessing to be here,” Malone said. “I want to learn from the vets, be on the team and have a role. I’d heard that this is a great organization and the city is amazing.”
Since January he has been training at Plex, the high-performance/sports medicine facility off the Sam Houston Parkway in Southwest Houston. His positive experiences there made him want to stay in the area, which gave the Texans a major leg up in getting him under contract. Because they’re desperate for depth in the offensive line, even more now with Allen possibly out of the picture, the fit seems good for both parties.
O’Brien can’t remember having previously coached the son of an accomplished athlete, but he’s looking forward to his experience with Malone, who is, in fact, Karl Malone Jr. He goes by K.J., not out of disrespect for his father but rather to establish the singularity of his identity. He knows he must be his own man.
“Just met him,” O’Brien said when asked about his first impressions of Malone. “Good guy. Pays attention in meetings, which is important. But the big thing for him, I think, is going to be health. Can he stay healthy?”
O’Brien, it appears, won’t have to worry about attitude. He arrived with clear marching orders from his no-nonsense, lawand-order-loving father, whose own strict personal discipline kept him among the NBA elite for 19 seasons, 18 spent with Utah’s Jazz plus a single last hurrah as a Laker.
Malone the son said his father told him to “respect the coaches and don’t speak back to them. He’s always told me, ‘Respect your elders. Say ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir.’”
Malone Sr. once conceded, “I’m glad he’s not playing basketball. It’s a curse or a blessing, the last name. Some people might not like him because he’s my son. That’s just the way life is.” Indeed, said last name may take time to grow on Houston fans, considering the pain “The Mailman” too frequently delivered to The Summit’s crowds.
They’ll surely remember the night of John Stockton’s famous buzzer-beating shot of 1997, which abruptly ended that year’s Western Conference finals series, sending the Jazz on to their first NBA Finals at the Rockets’ expense (A giant photo of Stockton draining the long jumper hangs to this day in the Malone family home, K.J. says). But they may have forgotten what happened during Karl Sr.’s last appearance in Houston, a career-defining performance — 14 years ago last month — if ever there was one.
Despite missing 40 games through the middle of the regular season with a knee injury, he was again his old self when the playoffs began. On the night of April 25, 2004, he scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds over 47 minutes two months shy of his 41st birthday as LA took a commanding 3-1 lead over the Yao Ming-era Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.
But an NBA championship proved ever-elusive. Malone’s career ended with him hobbled in the NBA Finals as Detroit prevailed 4-1. He couldn’t play at all in the last game. Carving his niche
Successful father-and-son combinations abound in sport. Without question, Gordie and Mark Howe long ago set the standard for Houston athletes. Improbable teammates with the World Hockey Association Houston Aeros in the mid-1970s, they’re both in the NHL Hall-ofFame today.
While asking young Malone to live up that would be unfair, predicting he’ll carve out a successful niche for himself in the NFL seems reasonable. One thing he’s certain of is that his being Karl Malone’s son won’t help him become a Houston Texan.
“I love my dad,” he said, “but I can’t be thinking about (what he accomplished) in his career now. It’s a business. It’s up to me to show my coaches I’m football smart, that I can learn my assignments and do the job.”