Overcoming adversity is not something new for women’s basketball player Natalie Stavropoulos, ’23. Before coming to NCC, Stavropoulos was injured twice during her senior year at Carl Sandburg High School.
The summer before her senior season officially started, Stavropoulos suffered a broken nose. A week after being elbowed in the face, she had to undergo surgery. With the expectation to be out for four weeks, she was able to push through and return in two.
Eager to start her final season of high school basketball, she was forced to wear a face mask, but her attitude toward the game didn’t change. “I am an aggressive and passionate player, so none of my injuries prevented me from being that way,” said Stavropoulos.
Her senior season was cut short in November when she suffered a torn ACL in her left leg. Out for the rest of the season, Stavropoulos was forced to recover for six months before being cleared to play again. Stavropoulos said, “After tearing my ACL, it was a big eye-opener that it could happen to anyone.”
What could have been a career-ending injury, turned out to be a stepping stone for Stavropoulos. After being cleared to start playing again, she and her older sister, Victoria, traveled to Greece to visit their uncle and start the process of getting back in the game.
Basketball is a legacy sport in the family. Her uncle, Konstantinos Stavropoulos, is a former UIC player and is currently playing professionally overseas. Stavropoulos spent a month in Greece with her uncle training to get her skills back. She said that being around him really helped her during this time.
She had the opportunity to watch the U16 women’s basketball team practice.
“Seeing them practice and the passion that all the kids have, you definitely see yourself being that (way) especially being hurt, you wish you could be out there,” said Stavropoulos. Her time in Greece proved to be very helpful in her recovery back into playing.
Stavropoulos has been playing since she was in sixth grade. However, she didn’t realize it was something she wanted to continue pursuing until the eighth grade or freshman year of high school.
“I fell in love with the sport because my family plays. I was the last one to pick up on it,” said Stavropoulos.
Growing up, Stavropoulos played a lot with her family. “My house is pretty competitive, especially my sister and I,” said Stavropoulos. “We really like to get at it with each other, especially in basketball.”
Her older sister, Victoria, is currently in her senior season at Georgia Southern University. “My dad would always take us together to a gym to play and we would end up getting into some arguments by the end of it,” said Stavropoulos.
Although playing together got really competitive, Stavropoulos said, “At the end of it we both push each other to become better players.”
Coming into her freshman year at NCC, she was able to make close relationships with her teammates. After her injury, one of her main goals was to build her confidence while playing. She wanted to show that she still had what she did in high school.
Most of her goals have not changed from the beginning of the season. Two things that she hopes to continue this season are consistency and pushing her teammates to become better.
