Waubonsie Valley coach Brett Love was one of the first members of the girls basketball world to get a glimpse of Hannah Laub’s talent.
He instantly liked what he saw.
“She’s been coming to the high school summer camps since she was in seventh grade and playing against some of the high school players,” Love said. “I couldn’t wait until she got here.
“Every year I asked her, ‘Are you coming to high school yet?’ She said, ‘No, I’ve got two years’ or “I’ve got one year.'”
Now everybody can witness Laub’s burgeoning skill set. The 5-foot-11 sophomore forward is enjoying a breakout season, averaging 15.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 1.8 assists and 1.0 blocked shot.
“She is special,” Love said. “She’s got things she needs to work on, but as a sophomore, she’s a good shooter, she’s patient with the ball and she’s strong.
“At her height, she can play guard or she can play post.”
Laub often does both in the same game, which presents a matchup nightmare for opponents.
She demonstrated that Thursday night, tallying 22 points, four rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot as the host Warriors rallied from a 9-0 deficit for a 56-48 DuPage Valley Conference victory over Neuqua Valley in Aurora.
“We started off rough because I think we were kind of nervous,” Laub said. “We knew they were going to put a lot of pressure on us, and we realized we needed to relax and settle down.
“We did a great job of coming back. We found our shooters and it worked out.”
Laub’s greatest strength is her range. The sweet-shooting lefty has made 59 3-pointers this season, shooting 38.3% from behind the arc.
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Laub shot 7 of 10 against Neuqua (14-12, 3-6), including 4 of 5 on 3-pointers. Not bad for a natural post player.
“I played center up until high school, so this was a big jump,” Laub said. “I knew I had to learn how to play the guard position, which was definitely a challenge.
“But I really like playing small forward because now I can do a little bit of both.”
That’s proven to be a boon for the Warriors (14-11, 5-4), who can use Laub inside or outside. She leads the team in scoring and rebounding and has a nice touch around the rim.
Senior center Meredith Martens, who had a team-high 11 rebounds against Neuqua, has played on the same travel team with Laub since they were in middle school.
“Hannah’s only a sophomore and she’s very versatile,” Martens said. “That would be the biggest word to describe her.
“I just think people don’t expect her to be so versatile. She’s crazy out there.”
Laub can defend the lane on defense and is now learning how to attack it on offense. Her driving ability will make her even more dangerous.
“Coach has been working a lot with me on getting the shot and the finish, so I’m not just showing them one look,” Laub said. “That’s been helpful.”
Love has encouraged Laub to continue to broaden her game.
“In practice, I’ve forced her to drive right and to drive and get into the defender instead of fading away,” Love said. “She’s made some improvement on that.
“I’m proud of her for taking on that challenge.”
Laub, who also plays varsity softball, had a challenging freshman basketball season on the varsity. The Warriors went 1-12, but she and Martens, along with junior guard Taylor Curry, have led the team back to respectability.
“Meredith has helped me learn to take the leadership role,” Laub said. “Together, we’ve been pretty good about keeping the team up in games.
“If anybody is down, we try to pick them up. We’ve been working together pretty well right now.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.