DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL MALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:Stassel’s growing into big role

NEWPORT BEACH —

Grow up! Chad Stassel looked at his feet, they were already big, so why wasn’t he?

His father Chip was 6-foot-5, but as a freshman at Newport Harbor High, Chad stood at 5-2 with size 12 shoes. Chad grew three inches taller the following year, another five as a junior, and four this year.

Quite a growth spurt, but Chad’s biggest growth has come on the basketball court, where he’s no longer the shortest player. He’s big-time now.

Stassel, now 6-2, has emerged as a leader in his senior year, somewhat of a surprise to some of his teammates.

This is Stassel’s first year on varsity and the Sailors (9-4) are on a four-game winning streak, much to do with the point guard’s contributions as the floor leader.

“I wasn’t expecting him to be [play] such a big role on the team,” said Newport Harbor senior forward Weston Dunlap. “I’ve known him most of my life and he was always the shortest kid. But he always had a lot of heart in him.”

Now Stassel has more than adrenaline pumping through his body. He’s pumping up three-pointers in a record number. The kid who needed a lot of space to get a shot off can’t stop shooting.

He can shoot now with ease, because the guards defending him are shorter. And it’s been lights out for Stassel behind the three-point line.

At the Keene State Classic at Keene State College in New Hampshire last week, Stassel hit a school-record eight three-pointers in the semifinals before helping the team claim the championship.

Only twice in the 56-33 semifinal victory over Smithfield did Stassel miss a three-pointer, finishing with 26 points.

Teammates didn’t expect it. How could they? Newport Harbor Coach Larry Hirst questioned the team’s direction before the three-day tournament. The Sailors in a 65-47 loss at Woodbridge played inconsistent, turning the ball over too much. Hirst said the Sailors, at the time playing .500 ball, were “a turnover machine waiting to happen.”

Much of the blame went to the player responsible for distributing the ball, Stassel. If one thing Stassel believed he could perform well at is leading. He’s the oldest of four siblings, and he’s the guide to the young ones.

His father showed him the way, reinforcing that Stassel needed to communicate to be effective

“Talk to them, teach them, and you can’t lose your temper,” said Stassel of what his father instilled in him. Stassel carries that with him daily on the court, and something else — how to shoot the ball.

Chip, a basketball player during his days at Corona del Mar in the 1970s, taught his son the basics of shooting.

“Keep your elbows in, follow through, and use your legs,” Stassel said. Just like that and Stassel’s been on fire. He’s been waiting his turn, toiling in the lower levels for three years for an opportunity.

He’s earned it. With 13 new faces on varsity this year, Stassel couldn’t have picked a better time to make an impact.

First he needed to make the transition from shooting guard to point guard. Hirst, not knowing what he had in Stassel, just let Stassel learn on the job.

“To be honest with you, I don’t think we have a true point guard, and we kind of forced fed him that role,” Hirst said. “I think it’s just taken him 12 games to get used to that role.”

No better place for Stassel’s coming out party than in New Hampshire, a testing ground for presidential candidates.

Stassel made his mark, earning MVP honors by averaging 18.6 points per game during the tournament. He did everything expected from a point guard, running the offense and finding the open man.

With two big men like 6-8 Kyle Caldwell and 6-7 Weston Dunlap, it’s hard not to miss them near the paint. The towering duo made Stassel’s record-breaking night possible.

All Stassel needed to do was dump the ball into Caldwell or Dunlap, and when the opposition swarmed down low, the ball would be popped back out.

Open looks led to easy shots.

“I felt like I couldn’t miss,” Stassel said. “I only shot one three-pointer in the first quarter, then Kyle went out because he was in foul trouble and we were down. I hit a couple in a row. I couldn’t miss after that.

“After Woodbridge, we decided we wanted to come together and start playing better. [Being in New Hampshire] brought us together and we bonded. It was a wake-up call.”

Stassel made sure to stand tall. He could now.