I think her mom is intent on building the program here without her.

Maybe I'm wrong in that, but Amber seems sincere in speaking about her future here as a reality that does NOT include her daughter. Amber's obviously a highly confident, informed & present woman, & yet it did came out in her interview that she is sincerely a BYU fan (I listened to her carefully on that — & she in no way embellishes her fandom; the family clearly follows BYU even though their bball life is plugged into so many other things, both at the state & national level). When she drops Juddy's name, it's as if she's known him very closely & for a long time. She doesn't need to overdo anything, & she doesn't in her interview. She loves BYU & she wants to make it better in VERY specific ways. Her immediate two answers on how she's gonna do that — they are clearly the same two primary objectives Pope is trying to raise the bar with: (1) DEFENSE. Defense has gotta improve , & (2) (which is in large part the answer to (1)) — RECRUITING. We need better talent (i.e. we NEED the athletes & size to compete at a higher level).

I couldn't agree with her answer more. With the exception of only a few years under Juddy, roster balance has been a huge issue with the ladies — maybe even bigger than it was with the men under Rose. And I love that there was zero hesitation from Amber in stating those two primary goals. I also really love that despite her supreme confidence in herself, she's VERY thankful that she's getting this professional opportunity despite her lack of credentials in the collegiate coaching world. Her expression of thanx to Tom & Santiago was sincere (& again — it was NOT overdone).

I really wish Amber the absolute best, & I believe she can pull this off despite the blind spots she'll surely deal with her first year. She's smart enough she'll surely hire someone who can begin immediately in helping her through that. And I'm excited for her with or without her daughter joining her.