One of the priorities for first-year BYU women’s basketball coach Amber Whiting has been building trust with her players.
Whiting has taken over for legendary coach Jeff Judkins, who guided the Cougars for 21 seasons.
So, on the first day of practice, Whiting made her players breakfast — pancakes and eggs.
Then she gathered the players around a table and asked them to be vulnerable and open up in an attempt to help them feel that they could trust her and her staff.
Now that they’ve bonded, the season is about to get underway. BYU tips off the campaign Tuesday at Colorado State.
“I’m super excited. The girls have been working really hard,” Whiting said. “I just want to see them out there on the floor so we can start making adjustments. Because you don’t know what you need to adjust until you’re out playing.”
In the Cougars’ exhibition game last week, forward Lauren Gustin scored 25 points and had 24 rebounds in a 72-51 win over Westminster.
Gustin returns from a team that posted a 26-4 record and won the regular-season West Coast Conference championship.
But with players like Shaylee Gonzales, who transferred to Texas, and Paisley Harding, who graduated, having moved on, 86% of BYU’s offense has moved on, too. As did plenty of leadership.
But Whiting sees this as an opportunity for players like Gustin, Nani Falatea, Emma Calvert, Kaylee Smiler and Gabriela Bosquez to step up and fill those voids.
“There are big shoes to fill. There are a lot of shots to go around, a lot of minutes to be had. I saw a switch in their eyes and the fire that came out of that,” Whiting said. “They want to step into people’s shoes and to make themselves known and be heard. I’ve turned it into a positive thing and they’ve turned it into a positive thing mentally within themselves.”
Gustin said the team has meshed well despite so many changes during the offseason.
“It’s definitely been a growing experience for all of us. A lot of new changes but I’m excited for it,” she said. “I think a lot of people underestimate us right now so we’re going to be able to show them.”
Whiting is focusing on defense with her team, something the players have embraced.
“Coach emphasizes defense,” Gustin said. “The intensity of our play is up a lot. Everything is intense.”
Gustin added that Whiting has established herself as the leader of the program.
“Amber fit into the head coaching spot quickly,” she said. “She’s transitioned well and made it comfortable for everyone else.”
Whiting has assimilated into her position. “I live, eat and breathe it,” she said.
What will that translate to in her debut season? What is the potential of this team?
Can the Cougars return to the NCAA Tournament?
“That’s definitely one of our goals. We definitely have the talent and the coaching ability to get there,” Gustin said. “We’ve just got to play together. We’re a whole different team than last year, but we’re going to be a good team.”
After this season, BYU joins the Big 12, which will be a huge challenge.
But Whiting’s not thinking about that right now.
“I really want to focus on the WCC this year and not even think about the future,” she said. “For us, we’re in the WCC. We need to finish it out right.”
In the meantime, Whiting, who played for Judkins 20 years ago and was coaching at Burley High in Idaho before being hired by BYU, admires him, and they’ve had conversations since she took the reins of the program.
But she’s running things the best way she knows how.
“No disrespect but I want it to be my own,” she said. “I want to build on the tradition that he had here but I can’t try to copy things.”
No doubt, as Whiting embarks on her first season as BYU’s head coach, she and her players have plenty to prove.
