Sometimes the art of creativity requires bending the rules a little.

Such is the case with NIU women’s basketball player Gena Stubbs. While the junior forward’s success has relied on a compromise of working in a system and being creative, coach Jane Albright has found it a challenge to find the fine line between the two.

“She’s a more-than-average player, and you have to let her be creative—as far as my own personal coaching philosophy, she has to have a green light to try some things,” Albright said. “You don’t want her to be bored with the game.

“I live with a lot of things I wouldn’t let other players get by with, and it isn’t because she’s Gena Stubbs,” Albright said. “It’s because when you put her in a very pattern situation, she’s not as good.”

The five-foot-eight Stubbs was dually awarded last week, scoring her 1,000th point—only the third woman to accomplish the feat as a junior in Huskie history—in NIU’s 102-70 victory over Detroit Thursday. At the same time, Stubbs was named North Star Conference player of the week.

But Stubb’s road to success has not been a smooth one. In fact, her freshman year it almost ended with a one-way bus trip—back to her home in Indianapolis. One day during practice, Stubbs’ complaining about classes and desire to “go home” resulted in a stern piece of advice from Albright.

“There were times her freshman year when I wondered if she would make it,” Albright said. “She was very into herself, and she was very ‘I hate school.’ One time I was completely fed up with her, and I was like ‘I don’t want to mess with you anymore,’ and I told her I was going to buy her a one-way bus ticket back (home).”

Obviously, Stubbs took the words of advice to heart, along with tips from Mom and Dad, and changed her attitude.

“I expected that (advice) from a coach, because I was whining all the time, and it’s natural to say what she did,” Stubbs said. “The way that she said it made me realize that there’s nothing I can’t do if I set my mind to it. Basketball won’t last forever, and I decided to stay here and stick it out.”

Albright also said she feels the exchange of words has developed a different and more positive Stubbs.

“I think that was a real critical day for her, and she realized that there were things she had to do,” Albright said. “I think the thing about Gena is she’s had a lot of adversity in her life … she’s overcome a lot of obstacles to be where she is.”

While Stubbs has received such honors as Honorable Mention All-American last season—averaging 14.6 points per game, and 6 rebounds per game—she is known by teammates and fans for her “Magic Johnson” styles and techniques—a player whom she idolizes.

“There’s been a bunch of times where I’ve had an opportunity to shoot, but I would rather do something fancy like flick it off behind my back (to my teammates), or between my legs or something,” Stubbs said.

But her teammates know what to expect of Stubbs, and admire her for it.

“She’s a player with a lot of experience—a lot of people look up to her for her leadership,” said Stubbs’ co-captain Lisa Foss. “She’s an exciting player to watch.”

While Stubbs has been personified as creative and exciting, another ingredient to be added is explosive.

“She adds an element to our game that nobody else can add—she’s the most explosive player on our team,” Albright said. “She’s taken more foul shots than anybody, which is an indication of her ability to take the ball to the hoop.

“When she gets her degree here, I think that I will be as proud of that as I will anything that ever happens to me. To see a person like that come through and end up with a college degree and go out and have an opportunity—that would have been a real success story.”