Malou was convinced by American former basketball player Glandon Alexander to join his ABCD Basketball Academy in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2012. Malou lived in a motel room with other participants despite the program being portrayed as an elite basketball preparatory; Malou persevered because he was "so desperate". Alexander persuaded Malou to enter the 2013 NBA draft but Malou withdrew his name when he suffered a severe ankle injury. Malou returned to ABCD for a second season and lived in a shared house with teammates where they suffered from food shortages, power outages and no hot water. Malou played with ABCD as they travelled across the country in a van to play games. He earned the attention of Fred Hoiberg, the head coach of the Iowa State Cyclones, but ABCD did not offer academic work towards a high school diploma and Malou would not have been eligible to play in NCAA Division I. He left ABCD to return to Australia in 2014.