Tory Verdi has been clear with his players about his expectations.
When it comes to sophomore guard Aislin Malcolm, the first-year Pitt women’s basketball coach wants to notice her when he looks out onto the floor.
In fact, Verdi wants everyone in the building to notice her, too.
“When you’re on the floor, I want to make sure that everybody knows that you’re on the floor — not by just shooting the basketball, but by you owning it, you belong there,” said Verdi of Malcolm. “Just having that type of aura about yourself.”
In her first season as a starter with the Panthers, Malcolm has been hard to miss.
Malcolm, a 2022 Chartiers Valley High School graduate, is Pitt’s second-leading scorer with an average of 12.3 points per game. She has made a team high 14 3-pointers with a .483 shooting percentage from distance, which is good for second on the team.
“I think it’s been going pretty well,” Malcolm said. “I love Coach Verdi and the way he’s coaching. I think this year I’ve definitely just grown in confidence in myself and have confidence that my coaches believe in me. So that’s a really nice feeling to have.”
Malcolm appeared in 23 games as a reserve a year ago as a freshman under former Panthers coach Lance White, averaging 3.1 points per game with 18 rebounds and 9 assists. She also shot a team-best 41.2% from 3-point range.
“With the coaching change, obviously it’s just brand new to everyone,” Malcolm said. “I think that was a big adjustment, just adjusting to Coach Verdi and his coaching style and it’s a brand-new team, too. Only four people from last year stayed. So, that took a minute to just get used to and get in the flow of things.”
A 5-foot-10 guard, Malcolm’s potential seemingly was bubbling at the surface a season ago as her 21 3-pointers were tops among all Atlantic Coast Conference freshmen and her 3-point shooting percentage was sixth best among all NCAA freshmen with a minimum of 50 attempts.
“I think last year I was known a lot as a shooter,” Malcolm said. “Then Coach Verdi and I had a conversation in the summer, and he knew I could do a lot more than just shoot the ball.”
Malcolm said she got right to work toward refining her game.
“We worked a lot on that, just me being a lot more aggressive on and off the ball on defense, just getting to the hoop, getting to the free-throw line,” she said. “I think this year I’ve incorporated that a lot into my game, just being more aggressive and attacking downhill.”
In addition to her ability to score, Verdi said developing Malcolm’s passing ability also has been critical to her early success this season.
Malcolm’s 26 assists are second behind fellow Panthers sophomore guard Marley Washenitz’s 37.
“We don’t want our players just to be one-dimensional,” Verdi said. “I think that was her identity as a player. We really wanted to work with her with her ball handling, so we could give her options.”
Verdi said now Malcolm is beginning to blossom as a player who can score at “all three levels.”
“She’s embraced that,” Verdi said. “She gets in the gym each and every single day and gets after it. There’s a reason why she’s playing at the level that she’s playing at right now.
“I always say your confidence comes from being in the gym. She’s in the gym every single day.”
And Malcolm said she is ready to help turn Pitt into a contender in the ACC.
The Panthers finished 10-20 overall and 3-15 in the ACC under White a season ago, who was fired after going 42-99 in five seasons leading the program.
Pitt has not had a winning season since 2015 when former coach Suzie McConnell-Serio led the Panthers to their fourth NCAA tournament appearance in school history.
Former coach Agnus Berenato led Pitt to its other NCAA tournament berths in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
“I think it is something that I’ve had to get used to,” said Malcolm of having a losing season a year ago with the Panthers. “Then again, being at Chartiers Valley, I see what it takes to win. The program it takes, just everything that goes into winning. I think it’s also very exciting to know that Pitt can get there, and we will get there.
“It’s obviously going to take time, but it’s nice knowing that I know what it takes, and I’m willing to do anything to get this team where it needs to be.”
A three-year starter under coach Tim McConnell at Chartiers Valley, Malcolm finished her career with the Colts with a 110-7 record, which included a 64-game winning streak that lasted from the time she was a freshman until she was a junior.
Malcolm won three WPIAL championships and a PIAA title in three appearances in the state championship in her tenure with the Colts.
“I think being a part of that you know what it takes to be successful,” Verdi said. “That’s where I think that her work ethic comes from. I’d like for her to be a little bit more vocal, and I think that’s the maturation process.”
Malcolm said she leans upon family and friends for support – in addition to her former Chartiers Valley teammates.
Former Colts standout Megan McConnell, now a junior at Duquesne, is averaging 12 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, while also racking up 28 assists and 22 steals this season.
Columbia guard/forward Perri Page, another of Malcolm’s former Chartiers Valley classmates, is scoring 3.8 points per game in the Ivy League this season, while Marian Turnbull is also performing at Northeastern.
“Meg and I talk here and there,” Malcolm said. “We play each other every year so that’s always fun. I’m still best friends with everyone from my class and we talk every day. I’m still very close with a lot of the CV people.”
Malcolm said her close connections with family and friends might just be her secret weapon as she continues to develop at Pitt.
“It’s so nice,” she said. “Just knowing that no matter how you play or what you do — if it’s a good night for you, an off night – just knowing afterwards I can just go to my mom and she’s still going to be there for me or just something like that. They’re always going to be there no matter what. You’re always going to have that love.”
As for this season, Malcolm said she now is ready to get back to her winning ways.
“I think a huge goal for us is to have a winning season,” she said. “I don’t think that’s happened in a very long time. That’s definitely something and also to go into ACC playing knowing that we’ve worked our hardest and we tried our hardest. Coach Verdi will say, ‘Even if it’s a win or loss, as long as we gave it our all,’ I think that’s very important to see in us.
“ACC play is obviously very hard. We all know that. I genuinely think we can get some wins during this ACC play.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.