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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Before a single Hornets practice officially had been held, before the offense had been installed or a shot had been taken, Malik Monk proclaimed that he was a changed person.

The 20-year-old said he had grown up. Gone is the flighty player who — even he admits — took days off in his rookie season. He is now accountable and trustworthy, the kind of person who pays attention to detail and shoulders burdens.

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He is a dog owner.

“I look at life different now,” the second-year guard said last week. “It’s like I got a kid.”

“Responsible,” is the word he used over and over when describing how his Neapolitan mastiff, Bear, has altered his world. Monk brought the puppy into his life shortly after last season ended, and the two have been inseparable ever since, according to his social media.

“I think it made me better — being on time and stuff. Because if you don’t get up on time, he’s gonna pee in the house,” Monk said. “You wake up 30 minutes late and there’s pee all over. So it’s made me look at everything different. I like it, though.”

And then came the Hornets’ preseason home game against Miami on Monday, when Monk went to check into the contest in the first quarter … and he showed that maybe he doesn’t pay attention to every little detail quite yet.

As Monk tore off his warmup shirt to enter the game, he revealed a plain, white tank.

He had forgotten to put on his Hornets jersey. Whoops.

“Ah, we were rushing,” Monk said Thursday, as he explained that the Hornets headed to the court about three minutes later than he was accustomed to and he felt pressed. “You can do anything when you’re rushing. You can forget your keys, right? It’s about the same thing.”

For now, it’s just a laughable moment for the player who averaged 13.7 minutes in 63 games in his rookie season last year. Don’t consider it foreshadowing of irresponsibility, yet.

After all, Monk is the player first-year coach James Borrego identified immediately as one who might thrive the most in his uptempo offense — provided the guard seizes the opportunity with dedicated and consistent play. That was a problem for Monk last season, when he injured his ankle in summer league, got off to a slow start and never found his footing.

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Borrego says statistics tell him an opponent’s offense is most vulnerable in the first 6-8 seconds of the shot clock  — and that’s when he wants the Hornets to begin their offensive attack. No more slowly dribbling down the court. No more methodically setting up a low-post play. The squad scrimmaged with a 12-second shot clock to push the pace — and the slashing guard Monk, for one, couldn’t stop gushing.

“I love that,” he said. “I’m not worried about that pace.”

But a pelvic injury at the start of training camp forced him to miss three pivotal days — including the first preseason game against Boston — and Jeremy Lamb has performed steadily at the shooting guard position that Monk is aiming to claim as a starting position.

None of it is concerning for Monk, though, who has maintained the extreme confidence that had him predicting before last season that he would compete for Rookie of the Year honors.

“Kemba (Walker is) always going to be the No. 1 guy, but No. 2 I feel like is either me or JLamb, and I’m making a push for it to be me,” Monk said. “It’s still training camp. I’ve got two more weeks until the 17th, until the first game (against Milwaukee). Two more weeks will be fine.”

Once Monk did find and put on his jersey against the Heat, he contributed eight points and seven assists — equaling Tony Parker for the team-high. In two games, Monk is averaging 10.5 points on 42.1 percent shooting, and 5.5 assists.

It’s early, and Borrego still has high hopes for Monk.

“The injuries they always set you back,” Borrego said. “He’s pushed through it. He’s getting better every single day. He’s had a really good summer, and that setback can hold him back. He’s now got to make another step. I think what we saw the other night against Miami was a real step forward for him.”

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As Monk admitted about his first season, though, his struggles came when he didn’t remember “every possession matters.” He’s learned and adapted, he said.

“You can’t take a play off,” he said of what he learned after averaging 6.7 points and 1.4 assists last season. “If you take a play off, that might be the game.”

Said Borrego: “He has a chance to be very special in this offense, in this system. Once I first got this job, he was one of my focal points because he fits today’s NBA. He can score, he can run, he’s athletic. He can play-make. And his challenge now is can he do it every single day. Can he become a pro that every single day, he brings it. I can count on him, this group can count on him. That’s up to Malik.”

The new, accountable, dog-owning Monk says it’s no problem. Bear has made him a new person.

“My responsibility done went up a lot,” Monk said.

His next goal is just making sure he has that jersey on.

(Top photo of Malik Monk: Jeremy Brevard / USA Today)

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