Woodstock's Whiting face of program
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WOODSTOCK – Woodstock girls basketball coach Marty Hammond said there is no real way to replace a player like Mollie Whiting.
Most of the really talented players, the ones whose names become synonymous with their programs, never really are replaced.
This likely will be the case with Whiting, a four-year standout for the Blue Streaks.
When Hammond thinks about losing her, he doesn’t think as much about the 20.6 points a game Whiting averaged this season as he does about her leadership.
He doesn’t think as much about her ability to drive to the basket as he does about her willingness to put the team on her back.
But Hammond does think Whiting will be one of those names, one of those players, forever connected to Woodstock and the community that watched her thrive on the basketball court for four years.
For her efforts this season and for the four years she led Woodstock when it needed someone to lead it, Whiting is the Northwest Herald Girls Basketball Player of the Year, as selected by the sports staff with input from local coaches.
Whiting scored more than career 1,000 points and kept the Streaks’ hopes for success alive when evidence that they were outmatched began to surface.
Whiting is the face of the Streaks’ program – a player whose shoes will not easily be filled.
“A few years ago, when we lost [former Woodstock standout] Jen Nichols, everyone said ‘Well, what are you going to do now?’ ” Hammond said. “But we had Mollie, and she was more than willing to start leading by example when she was still a freshman. As she got a little older, she started leading more vocally, but when you have a player, a senior, who can lead by example like that and show younger kids how basketball can be played, it’s special. I’m not sure you ever replace those players.”
Johnsburg sophomore Melissa Dixon also received consideration for Player of the Year honors. Whiting and Dixon are joined on this year’s All-Area first team by Cary-Grove sophomore Claire Jakubicek, Hampshire junior Chrissy Heine and Crystal Lake South junior Katie Burton.
Whiting, a 5-foot-6 guard, will graduate knowing that, at least as an individual, she accomplished what she wanted to during her time with the Streaks. Whiting scored her 1,000th career point against Marengo in November. She finished her career with 516 rebounds and 444 assists to go with 1,360 career points.
When opponents prepared to play the Streaks, Whiting was the player on whom they focused. But Whiting’s own focus rarely falls on herself. There were wins her teams left on the court over the years, and feats Whiting wished she could have helped her team accomplish.
“At times, there was a lot of pressure on me,” Whiting said, “but I always knew I had my teammates who could step up and help me out ... [and] I think all my hard work paid off. I just wish our team could have gone farther. But, individually, I felt like I did the best I could.”
Whiting missed eight games this season after she injured her left shoulder in a single-car accident in January. Doctors weren’t sure at first whether Whiting, who is left-handed, would return to the Streaks’ lineup at all.
But Whiting was determined.
“This is my senior year,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d be able to come back at first, but I healed a lot quicker than I thought, I did my physical therapy, and I rested as much as possible. When I got to play, I was so happy.”
Whiting is being recruited by Knox College, North Park University, Dubuque University and Robert Morris College, and she said she has not made a college decision. Wherever she goes, she will have fond memories of her four years on the Woodstock varsity.
“I will always remember the coaching staff here and how great they are to the girls in the program,” Whiting said. “And our fans, even though we didn’t have a ton, were the best. They would do anything for us, and they supported us really well.”
