Dave Mallon was never overly concerned with making the highlight reel during his

basketball career.

It's ironic now that Mallon's job is to literally make the highlight reel. After a playing

career that saw him grow from a skinny kid in East Aurora to a champion in England, Mallon is

back at his collegiate alma mater. He's in his second season as the video coordinator for the

Saint Joseph's men's basketball team under coach Phil Martelli.

Mallon knew the time was right to return to the Hawks after playing parts of three seasons

professionally overseas.

"It became more of a job than it was fun," Mallon said. "I needed to get out of it before I

ended up unhappy."

Before it was a job, it was just a game at which he excelled. Mallon graduated from East

Aurora in 2002 as the school's all-time leader in points (1,281), rebounds (848) and blocked

shots (608). He led the Blue Devils to Section VI Class B-2 titles in 2000 and 2001.

"He put us on the map as a decent basketball program," veteran East Aurora coach Gary

Schutrum said. "He got a lot of young kids excited about playing basketball in East Aurora."

where he was named All-WNY." /> More than the numbers and titles, the way Mallon carried himself is what Schutrum remembers

most.

"He never let any of that stuff go to his head," said Schutrum, who has known Mallon since

he was in second grade. "Meeting him, you'd never know the success that he's had. He doesn't

have the ego that goes with it."

Player and coach maintain a close friendship. When Mallon was home in December, he got back

to see his first game at East Aurora since graduating.

"The players were a lot smaller than I remember," he said.

Of course, when you stand 6-foot-10, lots of people look small. Mallon's height helped him

land a spot with Saint Joe's. He had a steady four-year career with the Hawks, including one

memory that will last a lifetime.

The 2003-04 Hawks were a mid-major team for the ages. Led by future NBA guards Jameer

Nelson and Delonte West, Saint Joe's went undefeated (27-0) in the regular season, still the

last team to do that. A No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament followed, and Saint Joe's landed in

HSBC Arena for the first two rounds.

Facing Bobby Knight's Texas Tech squad in the second round, Saint Joe's got off to a slow

start, trailing, 21-12, less than nine minutes in. Searching for a spark, Martelli turned to

Mallon, a sophomore bench player.

In front of everyone who had helped him reach the college game's biggest stage, Mallon

knocked down a three-pointer the first time he touched the ball. His effort at both ends

sparked a 24-2 run that spurred Saint Joe's to a 70-65 win.

"It was a dream," Mallon said of the moment, "everything you could ever want in

basketball."

The Hawks advanced all the way to the Elite Eight before losing to Oklahoma State. In the

two years that followed, they made the NIT, meaning Mallon played postseason basketball every

year of his college career.

"It feels like ages ago," Mallon said. "It didn't really sink in until after I was done

playing, but we could play with any team in the country."

Mallon, 26, pursued a professional career after his 2006 graduation, first in Portugal. He

played half a season there before moving on to England, where he joined some friends on the

Guildford Heat. With University at Buffalo graduate Danny Gilbert and former Orchard Park and

Canisius star Brian Dux also on the team, the American trio helped the Heat win the

championship of the British Basketball League in the team's second season of play.

"Those few months were the most fun I've ever had playing basketball," Mallon said.

Mallon maintains a close friendship with Dux, who had his professional career cut short by a

serious car accident in November 2007. Dux continues his recovery at home and can be found at

several of the area's big basketball games each winter.

"He's such an amazing kid," Mallon said. "I remember hearing his name in fifth and sixth

grade, how good he was. He put everything into it. He's working every day [to get better]."

Mallon signed with another British club, Worcester, for the 2007-08 season and finished his

playing career in 2008 with the Luxembourg-based team AC Contern.

When the one-time dream of playing professionally began to lose its luster, Mallon returned

to Saint Joe's when Martelli offered a job. He's also attending graduate school at the college

and hopes to land a job in advertising in Philadelphia when he's done with school.

Other than a few pre-practice jumpers, Mallon doesn't play much basketball.

"I'm at the point that I miss it," he said, "but I'm good."