Favorite athlete: Ben Simmons
Favorite team: 76ers
Favorite memory competing in sports: Catching an off-the-glass lob junior year
Most embarrassing thing that has happened while competing in sports: Teammate got dunked on in 10th grade or fouling out of a game.
Music on playlist: Alternative, Rap, Country, etc.
Future plans: Become a teacher
Words to live by: “Clear eyes, full heart, can’t lose”
One goal before turning 30: Finish school and have a degree to teach and/or coaching
One thing people don’t know about me: I’m a talented yoyoer.
By Craig Ostroff
Drew Stover is the man everyone is looking at on the basketball court.
His teammates on the Upper Dublin boys’ basketball team see him as last season’s leading scorer. A captain on this year’s squad, he’s also the only returning starter and only player with any significant varsity experience for the Cardinals.
His opponents see Stover as the focal point of every defensive game plan against the Cardinals. A first team All-SOL American selection during a breakout junior season, the senior forward will find himself the subject of double- and triple-teams throughout the season as foes try to disrupt and stop one of the most dangerous offensive players in the league.
He wouldn’t want it any other way.
“I’m ready for it—all of it,” Stover said of the challenges he and his teammates will face this season. “I know it’s coming, that’s a good thing. I have all the trust in the world in our guards to shoot that wide open three when I get the double- or triple-team down low. We’re ready for it.”
If the early season is any indication, Stover and the Cardinals could be in for an exciting season. His inexperienced Upper Dublin squad stands at 3-1 after its first four games, and Stover is picking up where he left off last season, dominating defenses and pouring in an average of 28.25 points per game thus far.
“One of the great things about coaching and having kids come through is seeing them mature,” said Cardinals’ coach Chris Monahan. “Seeing that process with Drew, seeing him grow as a three-year starter and watching him bloom into the leader he’s become has been fun to watch.”
For Stover, that process has included never being satisfied with his skills and his strengths. Stover is the consummate leader by example in practice, continually working to improve upon his strengths and erase any weaknesses in his game.
“Like a pitcher in baseball, your first time around no one knows who you are or what you have and you have success,” Monahan said. “He’s now going to be the central point of everyone’s scouting report. He knows that, and he puts the work in.
“Where I’m most pleased with Drew so far this season is that I’m expecting him to bring energy to the practice floor every day, be the best player, the hardest worker, and show everyone else what’s expected. He knows what’s demanded of the kids and he knows what we need to be successful. And he’s providing that.”
Stover’s leadership has been even more critical in a preseason that has been unlike any other. It’s difficult enough to develop team chemistry in a group comprised of freshmen, former junior varsity players, and transfers from other schools. But the pandemic also put the beginning of the season in limbo, limited the amount of preseason practices, and made social gatherings and team bonding experiences all but impossible.
But just as he’s been up for every challenge on the court, Stover was prepared to do what was needed off the court as well.
“It was really important for Drew and the older guys to step up and establish themselves,” Monahan said. “We have a lot of new faces, and we need to develop that cohesiveness. Drew was at the forefront, talking to everyone about how we do things. This is the coaching staff’s fourth year here, it’s the first time we’ve had a class from freshman year to senior year. Drew knows what’s expected, and he and the seniors have been teaching the younger guys that.”
“It’s honestly been a pretty difficult offseason,” Stover said. “We’ve got so many new people and we didn’t get a chance to have much team bonding. We would have Zoom meetings every few days, planned workouts, but it’s not the same. Normally we’d be having pasta parties and things like that, and that’s a big loss on building those relationships.
“I was a little concerned when we got to the point where the season was pushed back a few weeks. And with our team the way it is, it’s scary to be going into a season with just five practices and then right into games. And even with all that, we won our first three games. I’ve really been impressed with how well we’ve been playing.”
And for Stover—who will almost certainly see his name added to the banner of Upper Dublin 1,000-point scorers this season—there’s one word he uses to describe how he feels to be able to play out his senior season.
“I’m extremely blessed,” he said. “With this being my senior season, obviously I wanted to play no matter what, but I know you have to make sure it’s safe. I just feel thankful to be out there. It’s a blessing to be able to play, and I want to make sure this season goes on as long as it can.”
Stover doesn’t toss the word blessed around lightly. Missing his senior season would have been devastating, but Stover has been through worse. As a child, he came very close to losing out on athletics—and a lot more—completely.
When he was in fourth grade, Stover experienced persistent neck pain for about a month that grew more and more painful. X-rays revealed an aneurysmal bone cyst, a benign but very rare bone tumor that had eaten away at a bone in his neck. Stover was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery performed by a specialist who flew in from Texas to operate.
After the cyst was removed and repair work was done to the bone, Stover was out of school for two months and was told to refrain from any contact sport for two to three years.
When he got to high school, hoping any issues with his neck were behind him, Stover’s athletic dreams didn’t have him on the hardwood. Instead, the youngest of three brothers longed to follow in the footsteps of his father Bret—now the longtime Cardinal football coach—and oldest brother Ryan and line up under center for Upper Dublin on the gridiron.
“Football would have been my sport,” Stover said. “I went back to the doctor freshman year, and he said there was no way I could play. I ran the risk of being paralyzed. I could never play football again. That was a very tough day for me.
“My family was completely supportive. I was so upset I couldn’t play football, my dad motivated me to still be part of the team, and I tried to kick field goals for them, but I wasn’t really good at it. I was glad to be able to be a part of that, but that’s when I started really leaning toward basketball and my dad and my family were completely supportive of that.”
Stover played basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring his freshman year, and at that point, he felt that his future might be on the diamond.
“I was always a bigger fan of baseball,” he said. “Ninth grade year I had a really good baseball season, and then 10th grade happened and I switched my focus to basketball. I stopped playing baseball after my freshman year.”
At that point, Stover began to dedicate himself to basketball (though he admits he’s entertained the thought of possibly returning to the baseball diamond in the spring). A solid sophomore season led to last year’s breakout campaign. As did a lot of work in the offseason.
“The summer after 10th grade was my first year playing AAU ball,” Stover said. “Playing with these talented kids really opened up my eyes to basketball as a whole. It made me a better player and a smarter player. I also really worked hard on my conditioning from sophomore to junior year, I took it much more seriously than before. I’m a big kid, so I made that a huge priority last year. I think it’s really helped me play better.”
And though he may not have taken a high school snap, that doesn’t mean there isn’t the occasional sibling rivalry in the Stover house.
“Oh, there’s definitely a rivalry,” Stover said with a laugh. “Ryan was a basketball player, too. He’s always trying to argue with me about basketball stuff, always saying that he’s better than me. Whatever. He’s not.”
•••
While senior year on the court is proving to be a lot of fun, senior year in the virtual, remote classroom has not been quite as thrilling.
“I still think every night … of all the years in history, this my senior year,” Stover said. “In all honesty, it kind of sucks. But you make the most of it. And I’m thankful to have another day and being able to play basketball after school—it’s something to look forward to.”
The havoc that the pandemic has wreaked on high school athletics and academics has also thrown college recruiting into a whirlwind of question marks regarding recruiting as well as extended eligibility for current players. While Stover is talking with coaches from several local colleges, school visits to see the campus and spend time with potential teammates is nearly impossible.
Wherever Stover ends up, his coach is certain that success is waiting.
“Drew is a great kid who comes from a great family,” Monahan said. “To have a player of that ability come through your program, seeing his maturity and growth as a leader, it’s been amazing to watch and it’s something he’s going to be able to take off the court and further into life. Whatever school he chooses and whatever profession he goes into, he’s going to work hard and he’s going to be successful because he knows what it takes to get there. Being a coach and being in a leadership position, it’s been great being able to impact Drew a little and hopefully he can go and impact others in the future in his profession.”
And once Stover has hung up his jersey for the last time, he’ll have left a legacy far greater than just a name and number on a banner.
“I hope the younger guys can see that you have to put in the work in the offseason and in practice if you’re going to be successful in games,” he said. “I want them all to know that they can be a leader, it’s not just captains or seniors. Everyone can step up and do their part, and if everyone is involved, motivated and everyone has each other’s backs, I think there’s going to be a great future for the team.”
