By BUTCH HARMON – Growing up with a basketball coach for a dad and a pair of athletic older brothers, it should have been no surprise that DeWitt senior guard Natalie Knauf developed into a standout point guard.
A three-year varsity player, Knauf is the floor general for a DeWitt girls’ team that has plenty of balance and is off to a strong start this season.
“Natalie is that person who pushes the tempo for us,” coach Bill McCullen said. “We try to push the tempo with our full-court press, but when the press is not clicking, Natalie knows how to push the tempo.”
Knauf also knows how to get the ball to the open teammate. The Panthers have a balanced offense, led by Hannah Stoll with 11.9 points per game, Abby Nakfoor with nine points, Claudia Reid with 8.1 points, and Lexi Banaszak with eight points.
“We have had different people stepping up and scoring,” McCullen said. “We have a very balanced offense, and that is why I enjoy this team. They are happy to make the extra pass, and that is one of our biggest strengths.”
The fact that the team members get along is crucial to their success. “I think we are having an awesome season,” Knauf said. “Our team chemistry is one of the reasons we are doing real well. This is by far the best team chemistry of any team I’ve been on.”
Having a solid point guard like Knauf also helps develop balanced scoring. “We have several different scoring options, and Natalie does a nice job of running the offense and making us go,” McCullen said. “She has also worked on her shot, and teams have to play her honest. She is capable of knocking down the open three. That has made her a better passer, because teams have to guard her on the perimeter, and that opens things up. She is a tough kid and a hard-nosed kid who does a nice job for us.”
Having older brothers who are athletes helped to develop that toughness. “Her brothers are football players and wrestlers, and they are tough kids,” McCullen said. “Growing up in that family, it helped make her competitive.”
Natalie’s brother Nick currently plays college lacrosse at Indiana Institute of Technology, while her other brother Nate is a wrestler at Campbellsville University in Kentucky. Natalie’s dad Doug Knauf is the head boys’ basketball coach at St. Louis High School.
“I loved growing up and playing sports with my brothers,” Natalie said. “We would always be playing sports in the backyard and playing basketball in the front. My dad has also coached football and basketball for 28 years. It helps having a coach for a father. Whenever we would drive back from an AAU game, he would talk to me about my game, and he would tell me whatever he could to help me improve.”
While Knauf is a standout point guard, basketball is not the sport that she will be playing in college. Also an excellent soccer player, Knauf accepted a scholarship offer to play college soccer at the University of Toledo.
“I’m excited about playing soccer in college,” Knauf said. “It’s something I always wanted to do.”
Before the spring soccer season and college soccer, though, Knauf and her teammates have plenty of basketball to play.
“We are just taking it one game at a time,” Knauf said. “We want to get through districts and then go as far as we can.”