PORTLAND, Ore. | In his four years of wearing a Warner Pacific University uniform, Collin Malcolm piled on the awards and honors. For the 22 year-old out of Ashland, Oregon, not much has changed since then.

In summer of 2019, Malcolm accepted an invitation to play professionally overseas with Basketball Club Batumi, a member of the Georgia-Superleague in the European country of Georgia, sharing borders with Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. In late May of 2020, Eurobasket.com announced Malcolm as the 2020 All-Georgian Superleague Player of the Year.
 
Before the Covid-19 pandemic put sports across the globe on hold, BC Batumi, boasting a 10-5 record, was projected to win the Georgia-Superleague Championship. Malcolm, a rookie, and the team's starting Small-Forward led the team in scoring averaging 19 points a game.
 
The accolades for Collin Malcolm may have started in Portland, Oregon but he has since made a name for himself internationally. What started as a Three-Time First-Team All-Cascade Collegiate Conference, and Two-Time NAIA All-American player status has transpired into a Georgian-Superleague 2020 All-Star, First-Team All-League and Player of the Year. The Warner Pacific alum and the Superleague's second leading scorer, shot the ball 59.8% from the field and averaged 19 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 blocks for the year.
 
After a spectacular career at Warner Pacific University, Malcolm left the program averaging 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks for his career, etching his name into the history books. By the end of his four-year tenure, Collin had tallied a total of 1,879 points, earning the #5 All-Time spot on the All-Time Leading Scorer list and snatched 967 rebounds, making him the #2 All-Time rebounder in program history. 
 
We asked Knights Head Coach Jared Valentine about his thoughts on Collin Malcolm as a player and his recent professional success:
 
Q: Have you ever coached a player like Collin?
Coach Valentine: I have never coached an athlete like Collin. He is big, strong, quick, and jumps well, but it's more than that. He has tremendous balance. During his freshman year we were playing a huge conference game, and Collin made a critical mid-range jump shot with under a minute to go. It was an immensely difficult shot and he made it look so easy. It was then that I knew he was going to be special. 
 
Q: What makes him so special and separates him from the pack?
Coach Valentine: Collin's athleticism and work ethic are what separate him as an athlete
 
Q: Collin won All-Georgian League Player of the Year (POY) in his rookie season. Are you surprised by this? Is this just the beginning for Collin?
Coach Valentine: I was a little surprised that he was the POY in his first year, but I am not surprised at his professional success. Professional basketball is incredibly competitive, so it's hard to predict Collin's future. But, he has all the tools he needs to excel even at the highest levels. I'm incredibly proud of Collin and his accomplishments.
 
Reflecting on his time spent with the WPU squad, Malcolm noted he "had many great role models during [his] time at Warner that helped shape [him] into the player [he is] today". He continued, "Most of our team was in their late 20's when I came in at 18. They taught me a lot and I had to grow up fast, but they also gave me the confidence to be myself on and off the court. I also had great coaches that were always looking out for me and would give me feedback on how to expand my game to be a better player".
 
Picking up notice after the stellar Rookie campaign, in mid-June, Malcolm signed a contract to play another season overseas; this time with Kauhajoki Karhu Basket in Finland. Kahru Basket is the back-to-back Korisliiga League Champions, the highest tier of Finnish basketball. With the 2019-20 season being upended due to Coronavirus, the start of the 2020-21 season has yet to be determined but as of now, Collin plans to head to Finland in September.
 
Until then, "I'll just be living in a gym somewhere in Portland".


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