SAN MARCOS — There’s a certain pressure that comes with being visible in the community.
Malik Presley is experiencing just that as his basketball career takes off.
“It’s cool, but also everybody holds you up to expectation,” said the San Marcos sophomore. “I can kind of block it out and just focus on what I need to do.”
Presley grabbed multiple Division-I scholarship offers after last summer. He followed those up with another All-District season for the Rattlers this winter.
His exposure should only increase this offseason on the AAU circuit. That time in the spotlight might be overwhelming to a lot of teenagers, but Presley is used to having a higher profile.
“Every custodian, teacher, coach on campus knew who they were,” says Malik’s mom, Denisha Presley. “On the weekends when I had to work, sometimes I’d go open the gym and just let them shoot around.”
Denisha Presley has been in the public eye for Malik’s entire life as a teacher and school administrator.
“It was really fun. I remember we would just spend hours in that school, because my mom was really busy,” Malik said. “Me and Kayla, we would always have to find something to do.”
It was basketball daycare for Malik and his older sister, Kayla, that made them inseparable.
“Anything that we did, anywhere we went, we would always go together and play with each other the entire time,” said Kayla, a senior at San Marcos.
They’ve now gone their separate ways on the court but are once again sharing the experience of having a high-profile mom.
“She has such a big role that sometimes, I feel her pressure,” Kayla said. “I'm OK with it because it's made me the person I am today, and I'm proud of that.”
Denisha Presley became the head principal at San Marcos High School in 2019 after being in the same position at Lehman High School in Kyle. The move reunited the three of them on the same campus.
“Sometimes we have like our days where we're not so straight, but like, she's been pretty lenient,” Malik said “She's always been really supportive. She took more of a positive approach.”
It’s a balancing act between work and family.
“I have really stressed with my kids you are not a political prop for me. You are your own person,” Denisha Presley said. “I expect you to have a full life, and I understand you're going to make some crazy decisions just like any other teenager, and so they do have the freedom to be themselves and learn.”
That’s rubbed off on Malik as his stature grows as a college basketball recruit.
“Not only am I me, but I'm her son,” Malik said. “I'm also representing her and my whole family. Everything we do goes straight to her.”
Except the credit for Malik’s past, current, and future athletic accomplishments.
“He's earned every ounce of his achievements on his own merit,” Denisha Presley said. “My job is just to drive him around and make sure he has plenty of snacks.”