As someone who loves the game of basketball, I really do enjoy writing every single article. But I have to be honest here, this breakdown is definitely one of my favorites.

I need to give a special thank you to the athletes, coaches, family members, and even an NBA Strategic Skills Coach and Consultant for helping me compile the most recent game footage and highlights so that this could even come together.

Now, most of you know that I usually do not try to exceed the 1,000-word count, but this is going to go north of that mark to give incoming freshman Aislin Malcolm, Marley Washenitz, and Avery “Ace” Strickland their due. But I promise it is worth it because I am going to provide analysis that goes well beyond just watching their highlights. I am going to go in alphabetical order here, so first up is Malcolm.

A local product out of Chartiers Valley High School, Malcolm has been committed to Pitt since December of 2020. She is a proficient, three-level scorer who is an ambidextrous finisher around the basket, can knock down mid-range shots off the bounce and has one of the most compact and repeatable shooting mechanics - from her base to her release - that I have seen from any player at this level with range that extends well beyond the three-point line.

That is unlocked by a fluid crossover in either direction, a strong second dribble that creates separation and an understanding of space creation in relation to her immediate defenders. Basically, Malcolm can get to anywhere she wants on the court and then carve out the room and/or angle she needs to get her shot off.

Malcolm thrived at an extremely well-coached Chartiers Valley team under head coach Tim McConnell and as a member of the Western PA Bruins. Put on the tape and you see multiple layers of a 5-out offense, box sets, 1-4 high and some two-man game - all within a structure that promotes spacing and both ball and player movement. Malcolm understands executing offense within a framework that, while defined, requires players to read and react to consistently create advantages.

Combining her physical gifts, unselfish nature and high basketball IQ allows for offensive possessions to look far simpler than they are.

If that was all Malcolm brought to the table, the Panthers would be getting one heck of a player. But she brings one subtle yet standout skill that raises the bar even higher: she sets purposeful screens and knows how to play off of them.

While Malcolm brings finesse, her soon-to-be teammate Strickland brings relentlessness. Equal parts non-stop motor, a keen sense for tracking the ball off the rim and an advanced level of spatial awareness congeal in a 6’1” frame that is simply built to dominate games.

But her physical attributes and skill set are not limited to the interior. Strickland has a quick, effortless release that is unlikely to be effectively contested due to her size. Like both of her teammates in this breakdown, Strickland is more than capable in both catch-and-shoot situations as well as off-the-dribble with range that extends beyond three-point line.

Then there is a layer of purposeful intensity embedded in nearly every aspect of her game. Strickland possesses a top-end gear that is hard to match. There are times when she simply pulls away from sprinting defenders, even though she has the ball in her hands.

Admittedly, I do not watch a lot of high school tape outside of this environment. That said, I have never seen any player shrink the court the way Strickland does. There is an unfair quality to her game that Pitt will benefit from for the next four years. It is impressive.

But the best part of what Strickland brings to the table for the Panthers is an infectious, competitive energy and fire. She has an unteachable quality that pushes everyone from the coaches to the players to dig a little deeper to give a little bit more during practices and in games.

Pitt hit three home runs to different parts of the park with these incoming true freshmen, so let us move from the ferocity of Strickland to the poise of Washenitz. Given that she played in an aggressive, disruptive and flat-out dominant 2-1-2 press system at Fairmont Senior High School in West Virginia, you might think that the pace of her games was very up-tempo. They were at times, but only if Washenitz said so because everything moves at Marley’s pace.

There is no slowing her down and there is no speeding her up; there is only the pace that she sets. Only players with very high basketball IQs can dictate pace, and intelligence is Washenitz’s most pronounced quality. While one would need to watch an entire game to feel the full effect, it is evident when she flashes her peer-separating athleticism within a pace that she dictates.

This notion was confirmed by Brandon Dean, an NBA Strategic Skills Coach & Consultant based out of Naples, Florida, who has helped more than 35 NBA and NBA Pre-Draft players and is Washentiz’s skills development coach. She has been working with Dean since April 1 and will continue to do so until June 5 when she arrives on campus.

Over the course of a 20-minute phone conversation, we talked about how Washenitz applies her high basketball IQ to expand on her strengths and attack weaknesses, and how it allows her to project and adapt her game to succeed in the ACC.

One strength that jumps out on film is her collectedness in a crowd and lane navigation. Washenitz has a natural feel for the presence of help defenders and how they are going to rotate. She uses a combination of angular jump stops, step throughs and euro steps that allow her to create different finishing angles. Like her incoming classmates, Washenitz can finish with either hand.

She can also go deeper into her bag with a layup package that is usually reserved for more seasoned players. Yes, the second clip is a same-foot/same-hand layup attempt in transition that results in a foul; Washenitz is left-handed by the way.

Dean explained to me that one thing Washenitz is working on is an intermediate game, because living at the rim the way she did in high school is not sustainable in the collegiate level. So fans can expect to see a floater package and mid-range pull-ups when she puts on a Panthers uniform.

We spent some time comparing facets of Washenitz’s game to former and current WNBA players. But one thing Dean stressed to me is that she is not mentally stuck playing any one position or filling any one role. If Washenitz is the lead guard, she will execute those responsibilities. If she is working off the ball, she will move and think like an off-guard. Watching her hunt for opportunities to fire a triple while off the ball is one such example.

Again, this could not come together without help from coaches, family members and the athletes themselves. One thing that was reinforced to me during this process is how disproportionate the coverage is between men’s and women’s sports. I seldom need to reach out to a student athlete to try and obtain film. In the few instances I have done this, I have always respected that I am reaching out to a young adult, so I was floored by how much I received.

I want to thank Aislin for putting me in touch with her assistant coach at Chartiers Valley, Chad Warren, who provided me access to some full games. Thank you to Avery for being more than accommodating in directing me to her highlights on Hudl, and honestly did such a fantastic job in curating her game footage and highlights that it made compiling them pretty easy for me. As Frank Washenitz, Marley’s father, had followed me on Twitter shortly after she committed to Pitt, I was able to reach out to him in hopes of acquiring film. I never imagined he would open a treasure trove of game footage to me, let alone put me in contact with Coach Dean. Because of that I was able to get a lot more insight on Washenitz so I wanted to respect and honor that. Thank you both for your time and effort.

Having said that, all three of these players are equally special and bring something unique to Lance White’s squad. Malcolm is an ESPN top-100 recruit with scoring polish along the lines of Kayla McBride. The West Virginia Mountaineers completely screwed up (I can say that because this is a Pitt website) by not making room for Strickland and Washenitz. The former has the upside of Lexie Hull with the added bonus of interior scoring, while the latter profiles similarly to Kelsey Plum. That bodes well for White and a Pitt squad that won 11 games last year, and just two against conference opponents.