Court Jester

The first rule of comedy? Timing is everything.

Murrieta Valley High guard Amber Wharton gets it. Her coach, Scott Richards, calls her one of the funniest people he knows.

He also calls her the glue that has cemented this year’s Nighthawks, and turned them into a serious contender for the CIF 2AA title. Wednesday, Murrieta Valley (22-6) travels to Ventura to take on No. 2 seeded Buena High in a quarterfinal game.

“Wharton is our comic relief,” Richards said. “She has a great attitude and always has a joke to make everybody calm down. She creates more of a bond than she even realizes.

“But when she’s on the court, she’s all business.”

A versatile player and court leader, Wharton is primarily a shooting guard, but stepped in at point when starter Katie Clark was injured. During the regular season, including Southwestern League play, she averaged 12 points per game and led the team in assists. Wharton set the school’s single-game assists record with eight.

Murrieta Valley’s success is also thanks to Clark, who is averaging a team-high 15 points per game while shooting 30 percent from three-point range. Senior post Jasmyn Le-Compte led the Southwestern League in rebounds with nine per game and grabbed 20 rebounds vs. Foothill in a playoff game.

The secret to Wharton’s comedic streak is she has no idea what a calming influence her inside jokes and movie quotes are to her teammates, Richards said.

“It’s like a classic comedienne – I don’t know if she understands that that comic relief makes them all calm,” Richards said. “It strengthens our bond (as a team).”

For her part, Wharton is just a movie junkie with a great memory for funny lines.

“I’m known for quoting so many movies – no one can remember movie lines like I can,” Wharton said. “There’s always a random movie quote that applies to my life. I speak my mind and say what I’m thinking.

“Mean Girls – the best quotable movie ever. I also quote Stepbrothers, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Nacho Libre – me and a couple of my teammates have inside jokes and practice our accents.”

Her favorite movie quotes range from cute and sassy to hilariously inappropriate, but as any funny girl knows – timing is everything.

“I’ve just always been an outgoing, funny person, and I like to bring the fun to basketball,” Wharton said. “It’s so much more enjoyable to have that kind of atmosphere.

“If you don’t have fun, then there’s no point. I love the game and like to have fun. Except when we’re running, that’s no fun.”

Her wicked funny streak has had other benefits as well, like relieving stress for her teammates. Against Chaparral, sophomore Karen Wolf hit a free throw with less than a second to play as the Nighthawks handed Chaparral its first loss of the season. Wharton’s loose mood at practice before the big game helped, Richards said.

Wharton’s serious side will keep her playing basketball in college with several local schools showing interest.

“I’ve been playing for over 10 years and it’s not my time to give up playing yet,” Wharton said.