Sam Christensen hasn’t had his number called much this season, but the senior guard has made the most of his opportunities whenever he’s on the court.
A four-year high school basketball player who also participates in both football and baseball, Christensen has worked his way into the Rochelle varsity team’s rotation over the past few games, helping the Hubs pick up victories over the LaSalle-Peru Cavaliers, the Princeton Tigers and the Dixon Dukes. While he knows his opportunities have been limited, Christensen has continued to work hard in practice while keeping himself prepared for in-game situations.”
“I want to make the extra passes and do whatever I can to help my guys out,” Christensen said. “You just have to always be focused and be in the game. You need to know what’s going on and what situation you’re in. Somebody could be in foul trouble or hurt so you always need to be ready to get in the game.”
The Hubs are enjoying one of their best seasons in recent years, and as one of eight seniors on the roster, Christensen is happy to be enjoying such a sustained run of success in his final year of high school. With the No. 1 seed in the IHSA Class 3A Regional at Rochelle Township High School locked in, Christensen is hoping he and his teammates can carry their positive momentum deep into the postseason.
“It’s meant a lot that we’ve been able to come together as a team and finally have a good year after the past couple of years we’ve had,” he said. “We’ve always had potential but to finally be able to put it together after working for it… I think we can continue to keep going.”

Christensen’s basketball roots run deep within his family. He said his mother Mary set school records on the hardwood as a high school player in Mount Prospect, while his father Eric also excelled at the sport. It’s been 10 years since Christensen first picked up a basketball, but he said the game is still his favorite to play.
“They’ve always been there for me,” he said. “My dad was like my coach for awhile and my mom coached girls basketball for my sister, so they’ve always known what I needed to work on and what I need to do, and they always support me in every decision I make.”
The senior also credited his older siblings Kevin and Kelsey, who each played basketball among other sports in high school, with helping him grow into the player he is today. As the youngest of three siblings, Christensen has worked his way up from the bottom of the totem pole, and the fruits of his labor are certainly showing.
“They’re both really competitive,” he said. “They both really pushed me, and being the youngest I’ve had to really be pushed but they’ve always been there for me.”
The Hubs are a team loaded with guards, and while many of those players can score the basketball, Christensen said his defensive skills are what have developed the most throughout his basketball career. His effort on the defensive end has also caught the attention of head coach Tim Thompson, who spoke highly of Christensen’s work ethic after the team’s game against the Sterling Golden Warriors Friday night.
“Sam is one of the best kids I’ve ever known,” Thompson said. “It can be really easy as a senior who’s not playing much to get discouraged, but he never says a bad word. He’s a captain for a reason and he has great leadership instincts. He plays as hard as he can, he runs the floor for us and he plays some good, solid defense.”
Christensen has taken on some tough opponents for the Hubs in recent games including LaSalle-Peru senior Austin Prybylinski, who scored 27 points against Rochelle back in January but was held to just 12 points the second time around, a contest the Hubs won by a score of 67-64. But Christensen has accepted the challenges presented to him on the defensive end, and for him the focus remains the same regardless of who stands in front of him.
“You just have to be ready at all times and know that they’re just another player,” he said. “They might be better than you but you just have to work your hardest and do whatever you can to shut them down.”