With a thick, black headband and safety goggles, Chicago Christian senior Courtney Stoub looks a little like a robot on the basketball court.
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But her movements, and her leadership, are anything but robotic for the Knights.
“She’s usually the main focus of everybody whatever game we play,” coach Karl Frixen said. “We’re looking to get the ball in her hands.
“Or when she plays off ball, hopefully we’re drawing the attention of the defense away from the ball and they want to focus on her, so we’re hoping to get some people open that way.”
The 5-foot-6 Stoub has been on varsity since she was a sophomore. In Saturday’s 51-43 Chicagoland Christian Conference loss to Hope, she was set to start at point guard.
Due to a variety of reasons, she played in the low post instead.
Stoub still finished with five points for Chicago Christian (8-14, 0-6), but it was what she did away from the ball that was qualified as an eye-catching performance.
Her defense consisted of altering multiple long-distance shots along with the occasional steal. Meanwhile, hot 3-point shooting by junior guard Naima Hogue allowed the Knights to climb back in the third quarter.
“I don’t want to be selfish about this, about the game,” Stoub said. “I didn’t touch the ball a lot (Saturday), but that’s OK. Naima did well and led our team.”
Stoub followed that up with five points and three steals Tuesday in a 62-33 Chicagoland Christian Conference loss to Timothy Christian, but numbers aren’t always indicative of performance.
A leader is one who can impact the game in multiple ways, but more importantly, allows others to do the same.
“Just getting their heads up when they are down,” Stoub said of her leadership philosophy. “High-fiving is a big thing for us. We do it a lot. It’s just making sure they aren’t down on themselves.”
Hogue appreciates that effort.
“Sometimes in practice, we’ll be on the same team and she’ll just hand me the ball and I’ll shoot it,” Hogue said. “That chemistry in practice helps out in games.”
“Chemistry and confidence,” Stoub chimed in.
Spoken like a leader, one who is the first off the floor clapping and high-fiving during a timeout, then gathers her team around her during breaks.
Stoub started playing basketball at age 5, working her way up through Orland Park Recreation and Parks Department programs to middle school and eventually high school at Chicago Christian.
She doesn’t recall her first varsity game per se but does recall what it meant to be on varsity, particularly from the increased speed of the game and deft ball-handling skills by opponents.
“I was nervous the first couple of games,” she said. “But then I got into it and realized this isn’t that bad.”
Frixen confirmed he thought of promoting Stoub to varsity as a freshman, but he opted to keep her on JV for both more minutes and experience.
That proved prescient.
“Without a question, we were bringing her up sophomore year,” he said. “Ever since then, her points have gone up every season and she’s grown more confident in herself and her teammates.
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“The thing with her, she’s always encouraging, and that’s one of the reasons I made her a captain.”
Stoub has her eyes set on playing at the next level, either at Grace in Winona Lake, Indiana, or Calvin in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As to what she will study, that’s also to be determined.
“I’m kind of undecided,” she said. “Maybe something like a pre-physical therapy track. That’s one of my options, but I’m not dead set on that.”
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.