Winn as good as advertised

You never saw Mallorie Winn last year, but you heard about her.

Last year, Coach Agnus… You never saw Mallorie Winn last year, but you heard about her.

Last year, Coach Agnus Berenato was in the midst of guiding the women’s basketball team to their first postseason appearance in years, yet she always talked of something bigger; time and again telling the media that her best player was not yet on the floor.

But now that player is. And what a difference she has made.

In her first year of action, Winn has led the Panthers to what is guaranteed to be their first winning season since 1999-2000. The junior brings to the team a guard that can be the outside complement to Marcedes Walker that Pitt needed last year to take the next step. Through Tuesday, she had averaged 16.0 points per game and had hit 41 3-pointers.

Winn transferred to Pitt before the 2004-2005 season, coming up with Berenato from Georgia Tech. When her coach left, Winn found the decision to move on an easy one.

“I left Georgia Tech just because I didn’t think I’d be successful there,” she said. “I also had a great relationship with Coach [Jeff] Williams and Coach Berenato.”

Once she arrived at Pitt, Winn had to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer eligibility rules. When the time finally came for her to get back on the court, neither Berenato’s hype nor the expectation of Panther fans could rattle her. There was only one thing on her mind.

“It was just great to play,” she admitted. “There was no added pressure.”

Despite being one of a number of players seeing their first action as a Panther – redshirt freshman Shavonte Zellous and true freshmen Maddy Brown and Xenia Stewart are all making an impact in their first year wearing the blue – Winn has risen above the pack.

She established herself as an example for her teammates last year when she could do nothing but practice. Her natural talent, combined with the experience she picked up playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference – which currently has the top two teams in the nation in North Carolina and Duke – won over her teammates.

“I didn’t know anybody when I came,” she said. “I gained their respect in practice and that helped me slide into a leadership role.”

Winn has blossomed in that role.

She is the team’s first option in close games. (See: buzzer-beater to knock off South Florida, buzzer-beater to beat Cincinnati.) When she isn’t hitting game-winning shots in close games, she leads the team in free throw shooting. So, as the clock winds down and the ball goes to her, opponents have the option of fouling Pitt’s best foul shooter, or allowing the Panthers’ best clutch shooter to have a shot.

But none of that fazes Winn. She doesn’t dwell on what she brings to the team. Instead, she is simply glad to be a part of the Pitt squad.

“Pitt’s program hasn’t been very successful,” she pointed out. “To be a part of the team that’s making the transition [from average to good], and just go into postseason play, that’s great.”

Changing conferences also hasn’t required much adjustment for Winn, who has tallied several conference honors so far, most recently Big East Weekly Honor Roll last week, a week in which she averaged 18 points and 7.5 assists per game while turning the ball over just twice in 75 minutes. She can still point to some distinction between her old league and the new, though.

“The ACC is really about finesse,” she said. “The guards are real savvy. The Big East is more of a power game.”

Savvy would definitely be the word for Winn, who despite being the Panthers’ second-leading scorer, also leads the team in assists. But then again, what would you expect from a girl whose favorite player growing up was Magic Johnson?

On a personal level, the move north of the Mason-Dixon Line wasn’t too hard for Winn, who -despite being away from her father, who got her hooked on basketball and coached her all her life – doesn’t mind the distance. That’s not to say she doesn’t notice the climate change.

“The biggest difference is definitely the weather,” she said with a laugh.

But there was one thing Winn had to get accustomed to. When she arrived at Pitt last year, her number wasn’t available on Pitt’s roster. Fortunately, her mother knew just what to do.

“She told me to be number zero, because my game had zero flaws,” Winn said.

Don’t be fooled: The modest Winn relates that story in an almost embarrassed manner, not wanting to sound arrogant.

But as the statistics grow and as Pitt’s record keeps improving, Mrs. Winn’s observation sounds more and more accurate.

Looks like mothers really do know best.