By: Brett Kennedy
(TROY, KS) – Wednesday was National Signing Day for high school athletes and Troy High School in Kansas had possibly its best girls basketball player ever pick where she’s playing college ball.Troy senior Harper Whetstine signed to play Division 1 hoops with Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. As a junior last season, Whetstine averaged 25.7 points per game with the Trojans. Her 6.4 steals per game earned her the Defensive Player of the Year nod while finishing near the top in 1A-I Player of the Year voting. Whetstine reached the 1,000 career points mark as a junior and in the same season, broke a Troy record by scoring 43 points in one game. She led Troy to a third place finish in 1A, the highest finish in school history as the Trojans finished 23-2. “I’m so excited to go on to the next level. As soon as I got there (at Northern Iowa), I knew that was it. The community, the people, the atmosphere, it was just amazing and I knew it as soon as I got there,” said Whetstine. “I just hope to be a good teammate for others, definitely. Maybe won’t do as much as I am here, obviously, but just still hope to have a role in the team.””This is our first Division I basketball signee at this school and what a great year she had last year. A magical year with all the school records she broke and really kind of came into her own and started getting recognized around the state,” said Troy head basketball coach, Derek Jasper. (UNI) is getting somebody in Harper who’s ready to go right away. She’s a combo guard who can really handle the ball and really shoot it. One of the things that goes unnoticed is that she’s a great passer. She’s a really great all-around guard.”Whetstine and Troy start basketball practice for the season next week on Monday, November 17th.