[Interview] Steve Novak

Novak gets call
Former MU star selected in second round by Rockets
By TODD ROSIAK
trosiak@journalsentinel.com
Posted: June 28, 2006
The Houston Rockets had an acute need for a shooter. They wound up filling it with the best one Marquette University's ever seen.


Steve Novak becomes the third Marquette player in the last four years to be selected in the NBA draft.

Steve Novak, the 6-foot-9 forward from Brown Deer, became the third MU player in the last four years to be drafted on Wednesday night when the Rockets made him the second pick in the second round, No. 32 overall.

Seated in a room with his parents, Mike and Jeanne, siblings, grandparents, girlfriend and coach Tom Crean, Novak learned of his professional fate at Mo's Irish Pub in downtown Milwaukee, where roughly 150 supporters also gathered to watch the proceedings on TV.

And when Novak's name was called by deputy commissioner Russ Granik, the party erupted. Shortly thereafter it began to sink in that he'd soon be playing alongside two of the biggest stars in the National Basketball Association - Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.

"An unbelievable opportunity," said Novak. "I don't think I could be in a better situation. You've got a guy like Tracy McGrady who draws so much attention, as well as a guy like Yao Ming - what more could I ask for?

"It reminds me of my freshman year when we had Rob Jackson in the post, Dwyane Wade, Travis Diener. There was so much attention on so many guys that for a player like me, it put me in a great situation to succeed."

Houston was the second NBA team Novak worked out for, and a team that earlier in the evening traded No. 8 pick Rudy Gay - who projects to the same position Novak will play - to the Memphis Grizzlies for veteran Shane Battier.

Novak had said previously he wasn't altogether happy with how he'd performed in his series of workouts for 13 teams because he was still in the feeling-out process.

"That was probably the most intense workout I had gone to," he said. "It was one of those where it was tough to know exactly how you did. I was with (Duke's) Shelden Williams, (Michigan State's) Paul Davis, who are high-profile guys. It was competitive. It's hard to know sometimes if you separated yourself. That was one where I felt it was just real even."

The Dallas Mavericks, who Novak worked out for Monday, gave heavy consideration to taking him with the No. 28 pick but instead went with Michigan State guard Maurice Ager.

Once that scenario unfolded, the Portland Trail Blazers, who held picks 30 and 31, were Novak's next hope, and his final hope of being selected in the first round.

Portland took English forward Joel Freeland and Cincinnati guard James White, though, setting the stage for Novak's selection by Houston.

"We were hopeful he had a real chance at Dallas at the end of the first round. I know he was under consideration," said Crean. "There were numerous discussions with different teams. His agent's done an excellent job. Steve did his part in his workouts and interviews and with what he's done over four years.

"There were a lot of nervous moments, but this truly worked out great because Jeff has always used spacing 4 men and Steve is certainly as good as it gets at that position in this draft."

The Rockets, who finished 29th out of 30 teams in scoring and near the bottom in three-point shooting last season, are coached by Jeff Van Gundy, a friend of Crean's. The two were in contact during the draft, with Crean obviously selling the potential Novak holds as an NBA shooter.

"I just know that Coach Van Gundy is a hard-nosed coach who pushes all his guys," said Novak. "I feel like it's going to be a college atmosphere; you put the work in and you get on the floor, that kind of thing. I talked to him just for a couple seconds and that's basically what he said.

"He said, 'There's some things you're going to need to do to get on the court but I that being sooner more than later. It was, 'Welcome to the NBA, but you've got a lot of work to do.'"

Novak arrived at his gathering about midway through the first round, having watched the first portion at home. He began the day with a workout and then picked up new suit for the upcoming media obligations in his new city.

"I was pretty calm, I think, until I got to the party," he said. "Then I got pretty nervous. You start realizing what an unbelievable honor it is to possibly have your name called.

"You start hearing the names called, you see the top 10 available list at the bottom of the screen and you're not even on that list… it's unbelievable."

Novak will travel to Houston today to meet team officials and the media, and stay through Friday afternoon. Soon thereafter he'll join the Rockets' summer-league team.

Among the supporters in attendance for Novak's gathering was Diener, who a year earlier had gone through the same process when he was picked 36th by the Orlando Magic.

With Dwyane Wade having become a superstar and one of the new faces of the NBA, it's clear that MU will be well-represented at basketball's highest level in the coming years.

"It's a huge credit to Coach Crean and his staff and the kind of guys he recruits," Novak said. "What better recruiting tool is there than to say, 'Every year we're developing somebody that's made it to the NBA.' It's not coincidence."

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=444184

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Welcome to Houston, Steve!