alt=Ryan McDonaldWhen the BYU Cougars announced Wednesday that former player Amber Whiting will replace Jeff Judkins as head coach of the women’s basketball program, one of the first things many people brought up was how Whiting’s daughter is one of the top high school recruits in the country.
The 5-foot-10 Amari Whiting is a point guard who has played for her mom at Burley High in Idaho. She is ranked No. 32 in ESPN’s list of the top girls high school basketball players in the country in the class of 2023 and committed to play collegiately for the Oregon Ducks last November as her junior season was beginning.
“Quick floor-leader with a scorer’s mentality; smooth off the dribble, displays mid-range game with feathery touch, drains shots beyond the arc; weaves through the defense, finishes plays in traffic,” an ESPN evaluation of her from back in 2019 reads.
On Wednesday, many began wondering if Amari Whiting may end up joining her mom in Provo and not ever sign with Oregon.
While the Whitings have not said anything publicly about Amari’s college future, soon after the hire was made official she took to Twitter and wrote, “Couldn’t be more proud of my mom. She’s a great coach and even better woman. Go show them what you can do momma!,” adding a white heart at the end of the message.
Brittany Cooper, a sports reporter in Idaho, reported Wednesday evening that according to Burley High athletic director Randy Winn, Amari Whiting will play for Burley her senior year of high school and she is still committed to Oregon.
A few hours later, Cooper reported that she had spoken to Amber Whiting, and “she said in a perfect world, Amari would like to stay for her senior year at Burley. But they’re weighing their options, as the news of Amber’s hire is fresh.”
Amber Whiting and her husband Trent — who also played at BYU after transferring from Utah — also have a son named Jace who signed to play for Boise State before serving a church mission in Finland in 2020. He returned home last week.