One of the key targets for Stanford women’s basketball in the 2023 recruiting class is 4-star guard Amari Whiting out of Burley High School in Burley, Idaho. Whiting visited Stanford the weekend of September 25th and caught up with CardinalSportsReport.com about her experience.
Whiting was really impressed with the beauty of the Stanford campus and the rich legacy that it evokes. She got to watch the Stanford football game against UCLA and was equally impressed with the amount of school spirit and support there was at the game.
“Stanford was so beautiful!” Whiting said with excitement. “We got to tour the whole campus, and the whole time I was just amazed at all the history behind it and how beautiful it was! Everyone there was super friendly and showed a lot of school spirit at the games! It was so fun to see that!”
In addition to Stanford’s rich tradition and support for athletics, Whiting is aware of Stanford’s standing as one of the top universities in the world. She knows that if she comes to Stanford, it’ll be about much more than basketball. It’ll be about setting herself up for success beyond the hardwood.
“I think it’s really awesome that Stanford has such an amazing education to offer,” Whiting said. “Obviously student comes before athlete, so to me having a good education is really important. It’s super cool to me that Stanford is able to offer one of the best educations there is! I want to be a Physician’s Assistant in Dermatology!”
Speaking of the hardwood, Whiting brings a lot of energy on both ends of the floor. She’s a combo guard that likes to push the tempo and play gritty defense. One of the things she does a good job of is finding a balance between looking for her own shot and setting her teammates up for easy shots.
“Yes, I’m a combo guard!” Whiting said. “I bring defense, I’m definitely passionate about playing defense. I also just love to compete, I hate losing! I will do anything to win at all times! I like to push the tempo to get easy shots not only for my team but for me as well. I also like to shoot a three ball and look for that a lot.”
In addition to seeing the entire campus and getting a taste of Stanford football games, Whiting also got to watch a practice and see how Tara VanDerveer operates. It should be no surprise that Whiting was really impressed. Whiting was also struck by the overall environment of the program and how close everyone is. Teammates pushing each other to be better while also being great friends off the court.
“Tara is really cool!” Whiting said. “I loved being able to watch her hold her players accountable and push them to the next level. She’s a great coach, and it definitely shows!
“It was a great atmosphere there! You could tell that all the girls were best friends and pushed each other on the court to be better! The coaching staff was super organized and held all the girls accountable. You could tell the girls respected them, and always took their advice. Off the court it was cool to see them all interact and it showed just how much they enjoyed each other.”
Something that makes Whiting unique from most recruits is her membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Her faith is really important to her and she wants to go to a school that will allow her to have a positive experience practicing her faith. Whiting had a chance to check out the Stanford LDS ward (congregation) and came away feeling like it was a community she could see herself being an active member in.
“It was so awesome!” Whiting said. “They were very kind to let us see where I would go to church at and kinda get the feel for that. It’s very important for me to do this stuff everywhere I visit because it reassures me that I’m able to continue to practice my religion anywhere I attend! But it seemed like a great ward and I was very appreciative that they let me see the ward too!”
As far as what other schools are in the mix, Whiting is down to six schools and is in the process of visiting all six of those schools before her high school season starts. The hope is that after doing those visits, she’ll have clarity of mind to make a decision though at the same time she also doesn’t want to rush anything.
“Stanford, Oregon, UCLA, Utah, BYU, Arizona,” Whiting said of the schools she’s considering. “I cut it down to my top 6 before September 1st, that way I could just focus on the schools I’m very interested in. I’m hoping that after I take all my visits before my high school basketball season, that I will be able to decide. But if not, then definitely down to my final two before the season.”
As far as what she’s most looking for in a program, Whiting wants to go somewhere she is valued on the court and also somewhere she can have a positive academic experience away from basketball. She wants to have a well-rounded college experience and get the most out of this next chapter of her life.
“I wanna go somewhere where I know I’m really wanted,” Whiting said. “Also somewhere if something did happen to me then I would still enjoy being at the school! I wanna go somewhere where I feel like my teammates are my family and get along well! I feel like that’s very important especially if I’m leaving my family, then I wouldn’t be as homesick and we would have better chemistry on the court! More chemistry equals more Ws.”
At this point, Stanford appears to be sitting in a good spot with Amari Whiting. She had an all-around great experience on her visit and got a good feel for how Stanford could help her develop both as a basketball player and also as a student who takes her religion seriously. It should be noted that Whiting doesn’t plan on serving an LDS mission, so whatever school gets her will be getting her for four consecutive years. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of her recruitment plays out and ultimately if she’ll decide to come to The Farm come fall 2023.
