IOWA CITY — Amari Whiting joined Iowa women's basketball as a transfer in the offseason, and one of the most valuable things she brings to the Hawkeyes roster is how long she has been playing college basketball.
After being Idaho's girls basketball Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022, her senior year of high school, Whiting went on to play for BYU.
She played for the Cougars her freshman and sophomore seasons, starting in all 63 games of her career there.
Whiting then transferred to Oklahoma State for her third year of college hoops, starting the next 34.
Keeping track? Before even stepping foot on the court in an Iowa uniform, Whiting has logged 97 career games at the Division I power-conference level.
"I do feel like I'm a vet in as far as I've played a lot of basketball in my life," Whiting said at Iowa women's basketball's media day on Oct. 13. "But at the same time, I kind of get giddy like a freshman again. I'm learning all these new things, and everything's been great. I'm just excited to bring my IQ in places that are needed, but also just learn."
Amari Whiting is excited to play in front of Hawkeye fans
When Whiting signed with Iowa in April, head coach Jan Jensen noted that her basketball IQ and her defense were two of the things in her game that the Hawkeyes were excited to have. With four transfer players on the roster this year (Whiting, Bria Medina, Dani Carnegie and Jocelyn Faison), Jensen said that the winning culture of Iowa and the fan base are a few things that were attractive to this year's transfer class.
"I think that they want to win," Jensen said in her press conference at media day on Oct. 13. "They are bought into winning. They're bought into how Iowa has won. That was attractive. And certainly being part of this incredible fan base... I think that was part of the reason for these four to come in. It's fun to play here. It's meaningful to play here. It's special to play here."
Whiting has 101,000 followers on Instagram, posting videos with her teammates that range from vlogging a gear haul to dancing and joking around. Once she announced her commitment to Iowa, she said lots of fans were reaching out, excited to welcome her.
"I have a lot of fun with social media," Whiting said. "Once I committed, and even when I was on campus, I got a lot of Iowa followers. I get lots of DMs and comments of just like, 'Hey, we're excited to have you play here, and just excited for the season.'"
What Amari Whiting brings to the Hawkeyes
Whiting, a guard, takes pride in her defense. Her 1.76 steals per game last season ranked among the top 15 in the Big 12. She averaged 5.82 rebounds, 16th in the Big 12.
"I'm just the kind of girl that likes to get it done defensively, and then I kind of let my offense come to me," Whiting said. "I'll just be aggressive when it's needed and just kind of lock down on D."
She has a lot of goals and expectations this year, but one of the main ones is to have a long season, and go deep into the NCAA Tournament.
"I think a lot of us just want to go as far as we can," Whiting said. "I think for us that is definitely a Final Four. We think that we can all really lock in with our unity and just being able to play together for that."
Iowa opens the season with an Oct. 29 home exhibition against Maryville.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Amari Whiting brings her veteran presence to Iowa women's basketball