BUTLER TWP — Face-guarding is something Stae Stobert had never seen before.

Butler County Community College basketball coach Dick Hartung could only smile when recalling the look on his sophomore point guard’s face.

“During a timeout, he (Stobert) walked up to me and said, ‘Coach, they’re face-guarding me. I don’t know what to do. No one’s ever done that to me.’

“I told him to be proud. It means they respect your shot. It means they believe you can hurt them.

“It means you’ve arrived as a player,” Hartung added.

Stobert, a 2013 Butler graduate, was a point guard in the Golden Tornado system who was a year behind standout Nate Snodgrass, an All-WPIAL selection who gobbled up most of the minutes.

When he was a senior, sophomore Keenan Krause was groomed to be Butler’s starter.

“The kid didn’t play much in high school,” Hartung said. “He was cut from the team in 10th grade.”

“I averaged two or three minutes a game if I was lucky,” Stobert admitted. “I saw most of my action during mop-up time.”

Stobert considered going straight to Indiana (Pa.) University to begin working on a degree in criminology. But he just wasn’t ready to give up on basketball.

“I’m not a quitter,” he said. “I wasn’t happy with the way my high school career went and I didn’t want to leave the sport that way.

“I’ve always respected and admired Coach Hartung. I asked him about playing at BC3 and he promised to give me a chance if I tried out.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” Stobert added.

Now in his second season with the Pioneers, Stobert has drained 14 3-pointers through six games and has scored in double-figures three times.

More importantly, he’s dished out 23 assists while turning the ball over only eight times. And he’s averaging 32 to 35 minutes per game.

“The kid is a success story,” Hartung said. “He’s on the floor for us because he works his butt off. He plays great defense, too.”

Against Mercyhurst Northeast Saturday, Stobert dove for a loose ball at mid-court against an opposing player much taller and stronger. As the two battled on the floor for possession, Stobert grabbed the ball and, while still on his backside, flipped a pass ahead to a teammate for an uncontested lay-up.

“That’s just what he does,” Hartung said. “Shae makes great decisions on the court.”

Admittedly a playmaker more than a scorer, Stobert has learned to take his shot when it’s there.

“I just have to set my feet and let it fly,” he said. “If mine is the open shot, I have to take it.

“But my main job is to facilitate our offense, move the ball, find the open man. I have to take care of the basketball.”

Stobert has been doing a god job of the latter — and his coach has noticed.

“He doesn’t turn it over and we’ve played some tough competition,” Hartung said. “We’ve played a (NJCAA) Division I team, three Division II teams ... he’s been pressured by some bigger, more skilled athletes and he’s not bothered by it at all.”

BC3 is a NJCAA Division III program.

“Shae Stobert has made himself a player through hard work and intense, intelligent play,” Hartung said.

When this school year is over, Stobert will transfer to IUP, pursue that criminology degree and go after his goal of becoming a state policeman.

His father works as a corrections officer at the state prison in Mercer.

“My dad is my hero, my role model,” Stobert said. “I’ve always wanted to go into the same field.”

But he’ll enjoy his final season of organized basketball first.

“Some of my best friends, Dom Pusateri and Austin Miller, are on this team,” he said. “The season’s just beginning and I’ve never had so much fun playing basketball in my life.

“This team is like a second family to me. The chemistry is unreal. We all love the game so much ... It’s tremendous.”