Paul, Linda Mallers grateful for every day they have

Former Dundee-Crown basketball star Paul Mallers said he doesn't think about the St. Patrick's Day crash at a Subway restaurant in West Dundee that nearly killed him unless he's asked about it.

But he gets asked about it all the time, and not just by sports writers curious to learn how he's doing a year later.

All college kids spend hours regaling each other with the stories of their lives up to that point. That's how students from different backgrounds who grow up hundreds of miles away from each other socialize, bond and become lifelong friends.

Mallers, now a freshman at St. Norbert College in DePere, Wis., has one of those interesting stories to tell, one that captures the attention of anyone within earshot. It's the kind of story that gets spread around campus faster than a petition demanding lower tuition.

Paul and his mother, Linda, were eating lunch at the Subway restaurant on Illinois 31 in West Dundee last March 17 when the unexpected happened -- a sport utility vehicle burst through the wall, sending Mallers flying across the restaurant and covering him in bricks and other debris.

One person, 56-year-old West Dundee accountant, John Venezia, was killed. Eight others were injured, including Paul and Linda. Venezia was the accountant for the Dundee-Crown Athletic Hall of Fame Foundation.

Paul suffered a broken hand and several cuts and bruises to his body. Linda had five fractured bones in one foot. Both felt fortunate not to be injured worse.

"It still kind of shocks me," Paul said. "I've probably told the story here at school about 100 times. People always ask me what I was thinking at the time. I just tell them I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess."

The story is so well known at St. Norbert that Mallers is sometimes called "Roast Beef" by his fellow basketball players in tribute to the sandwich he was eating at the time of the accident, proving nothing is sacred or off limits when it comes to kidding a teammate.

But the better part of the story is how well Paul and Linda have since recovered.

The emotional recovery began the day after the accident, when Paul was released from the hospital in time to attend the Daily Herald All-Area Basketball recognition banquet at Stonegate Banquet Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Still in pain and on medication, Paul said he remembers only snippets of the banquet, though he does remember the standing ovation he received from everyone in the room that night, an audience comprised of supportive players and coaches from rival schools.

A month later Paul was feeling much better and made an official visit to the St. Norbert basketball program. He fell in love with the small college near Green Bay and committed to play for the Green Knights soon thereafter.

Mallers was cleared to play by doctors late in the summer but, like most freshmen, he didn't get much playing time early in his first college season. However, he earned more minutes as the season progressed and eventually became a key contributor down the stretch, starting the final 7 games of the season for a team that finished 14-10. Mallers scored 5.2 points per game, playing an average of 15 minutes per contest.

His previously broken hand certainly didn't affect his shot; Mallers sank 38 of 74 field-goal attempts (51.4 percent), including 10 of 20 from 3-point range. He also sank 17 of 20 free throws (85 percent).

"Paul plays so hard and does so many good things -- things that don't show up on the stat sheet -- that he found a way to get on the floor," St. Norbert coach Gary Grzesk said. "And when he got that opportunity he made the most of it. He had a tremendous year for us. I was really happy for him."

The recovery has gone well for Linda, too. She used a walker for the first month after the accident and later wore a protective boot.

Scheduled to be remarried in April, Linda and her fiancee delayed the wedding until she was able to walk down the aisle on her own terms in July.

"Last year was a year of wonderful things: the recovery from the accident and my wedding," Linda said this week. "I'd say after the accident we started feeling better. I started looking forward and Paul did, too."

The accident gave both Paul and Linda a live-for-today attitude. Linda used the tax return money to take the family on a cruise to celebrate Paul's high school graduation. "Every day we're grateful for what we have and how we lucked out," she said. "We count our blessings, that's for sure."

No matter how many times Paul recounts his once-in-a-lifetime story to classmates at St. Norbert, the same message will always come through.

"I can't believe I'm still here and still playing basketball," he said. "I was thinking at the time that maybe my career was over. Now, I just go day by day. I'm happy things turned out as well as they did."

And that's a story that'll never get old.