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Michigan was his only scholarship offer. Now he's in its starting lineup.
Boys basketball: With his college destination in doubt, Novak came out swinging
(http://www.post-trib.com/sports/highschools/842124,novak.ar ticle)
March 14, 2008
By Brian Hedger Post-Tribune staff writer
Oh, to know what thoughts went through the young man's mind.
On a cold January night in Chesterton, Zack Novak was all alone on a fastbreak after a Lake Central turnover. The Trojans were winning, and Novak was a big reason why.
And there he was, in the comfort of his own gym, streaking toward the basket. The kid with the wavy mop top didn't have a college scholarship offer from the Michigan Wolverines yet. He didn't know that a little more than a month later, he'd be named the Post-Tribune's Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
And, to be honest, he didn't particularly care. Not at that moment, anyway.
All he cared about was the ball, the hoop and sending a message with the talent that brought him to that moment -- the talent his critics are always quick to discredit. How many times has Novak heard it these past four years?
Yeah, he can score. But ...
Yeah, he can shoot a little. But ...
Yeah, he can rebound in high school. But ...
Seems like there's always a "but" end to any compliment people give Novak, who was listed by Chesterton at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, but probably isn't quite that tall.
"I hear all the time that I'm not athletic enough to play at a high Division I level," says Novak, a month and change removed from the fastbreak against Lake Central that we'll return to in a moment. "They say I'm not quick enough. Can't jump high enough. Just the jumping thing ... I don't think I jump that bad, you know?"
Maybe it's the stereotype about white men and jumping that automatically leads some to think his heels are superglued to the floor. Maybe it's his natural build, which even when he's trimmed down is probably best described as "thick" or "solid."
Whatever it is, Novak's playing ability has taken more hits than Everlast. He thinks for a second about the Lake Central game, the fastbreak and the eye-catching lift he got off the floor before cramming the ball through the hoop with his left hand -- legs slightly split ala Michael Jordan.
"I sit back and laugh a little bit," he says, shaking his head and cracking a smirk, "because I might not be the fastest kid in the world, but I can jump pretty decent."
That's not all he can do. He can also light up a scoreboard.
He'll knock 3-pointers stiff from well beyond the 3-point line. Other times, when his jumper's not there, he'll put his head down and bully his way to the bucket for a layup, foul or both.
"Somebody in his past really did a great job of teaching him to compete," says Chesterton head coach Tom Peller, while watching Novak dunk on a helpless soul at a recent open gym. "He's a true competitor. He'll compete as hard as he can at anything, whether he's playing basketball or poker. That's just the way he is."
That's just the way he was raised, the lone child of former standout Clark athletes Dave Novak and Dana Kilander (her maiden name). Zack was born in North Hammond, and if he'd stayed there he might've found his way to Clark or maybe even East Chicago. Imagine those possibilities.
But his family moved to Porter when he was four, and the house he lived in was right next door to Hawthorne Park.
The basketball court there butted against their back yard, and that is where Zack Novak first fell in love with basketball. He shot baskets a lot. Sometimes his mom, a high school basketball player herself, would play against him.
Sometimes it was Dave, who played at Clark and a year at Purdue Calumet. Or, sometimes it was a group of Chesterton High School kids -- who invited the young Novak to fill a spot.
Later, when Zack was in middle school, Dave coached a team of Chesterton kids that included many of the same guys from this season's Duneland Conference championship team.
He and Zack would pile into Dave's tan conversion van and make treks all over the state to play in tournaments. On one of the trips, Dave stopped into an antique store in Martinsville and picked up a VHS tape about Damon Bailey -- the prep phenom and former Indiana Hoosiers star. His van had a TV/VCR unit, and Zack used it. A lot.
"He'd sit back there and just watch this Damon Bailey video over and over," Dave says, chuckling. "I got sick of hearing this thing over and over, but he never got tired of it. He found it really entertaining."
Fitting that he would, since Zack Novak is a bit of a high school phenom himself.
He's been playing varsity since he was a freshman. Now, as a senior, he's the Trojans' career leading scorer. Yet, at the beginning of this season, things weren't so rosey. Valparaiso University, the school that had been recruiting him since his sophomore year, informed him they needed a big man instead.
And with virtually no other offers, Novak started to feel pressure. All the stinging criticisms stung even worse. It all built up inside until finally, he dealt with it the only way he knew how. He vowed to prove people wrong.
"He just said, 'Don't worry about it, Dad,'" Dave Novak recalls. "'I'm going to have a huge year.'"
Huge, indeed. Novak scored 26.9 points a game and grabbed nearly eight rebounds per game. He hit shots early in games. He hit shots late. He defended guys both bigger and smaller. In short, whenever the Trojans needed an ace, he was right there with a maroon cape around his neck.
"It was just of one of those things where I had nothing to lose," Novak says, hunching his shoulders. "I'd actually lost what I had. I'd had things before that I'd waited on, and then I lost them."
He pauses. Thinks about the hard feelings in his gut on just the second day of school this year, when VU went in another direction.
"That was rough, just because I had no one talking to me," he says. "My future was uncertain, and here I am ... I'm just going to be known as this huge disappointment ... to everybody. I know how it is. Here's a kid who's played since he was a freshman, and everyone's thinking, 'Oh, he's going to go big,' and all of a sudden he's a senior and he's got nothing. Doesn't look too good. Looks like either I screwed something up or something didn't go right. So, I just kind of used it all as motivation."
Everything negative got funneled into his game -- from the slams on his physical ability to the fact the Post-Tribune neglected to include him in its pre-season "Fab Five" of the area's top five players. He trained harder. He fixed his jump shot thanks to some handy advice by Crown Point senior Stephen Albrecht, also a shooting whiz.
He lost 20 pounds after getting too bulky from lifting weights.
And the results were on display all winter long -- when Novak used his critics as fuel for the inner fire that eventually impressed Michigan coach John Beilein enough to give him a scholarship. Novak also won back interest and offers from some mid-majors, including VU -- which made a late, unsuccessful push to sign him.
Oh, to know what went through the young man's mind on that cold January night against Lake Central. Too short? Not fast enough? Can't guard anybody? CAN'T JUMP?!?!?
One powerful, graceful hop is all it took for him to answer. With several college coaches sitting right behind the basket that night, Zack Novak thundered home his own message to all of his doubters.
In ... your ... FACE!
Boys basketball: With his college destination in doubt, Novak came out swinging
(http://www.post-trib.com/sports/highschools/842124,novak.ar ticle)
March 14, 2008
By Brian Hedger Post-Tribune staff writer
Oh, to know what thoughts went through the young man's mind.
On a cold January night in Chesterton, Zack Novak was all alone on a fastbreak after a Lake Central turnover. The Trojans were winning, and Novak was a big reason why.
And there he was, in the comfort of his own gym, streaking toward the basket. The kid with the wavy mop top didn't have a college scholarship offer from the Michigan Wolverines yet. He didn't know that a little more than a month later, he'd be named the Post-Tribune's Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
And, to be honest, he didn't particularly care. Not at that moment, anyway.
All he cared about was the ball, the hoop and sending a message with the talent that brought him to that moment -- the talent his critics are always quick to discredit. How many times has Novak heard it these past four years?
Yeah, he can score. But ...
Yeah, he can shoot a little. But ...
Yeah, he can rebound in high school. But ...
Seems like there's always a "but" end to any compliment people give Novak, who was listed by Chesterton at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, but probably isn't quite that tall.
"I hear all the time that I'm not athletic enough to play at a high Division I level," says Novak, a month and change removed from the fastbreak against Lake Central that we'll return to in a moment. "They say I'm not quick enough. Can't jump high enough. Just the jumping thing ... I don't think I jump that bad, you know?"
Maybe it's the stereotype about white men and jumping that automatically leads some to think his heels are superglued to the floor. Maybe it's his natural build, which even when he's trimmed down is probably best described as "thick" or "solid."
Whatever it is, Novak's playing ability has taken more hits than Everlast. He thinks for a second about the Lake Central game, the fastbreak and the eye-catching lift he got off the floor before cramming the ball through the hoop with his left hand -- legs slightly split ala Michael Jordan.
"I sit back and laugh a little bit," he says, shaking his head and cracking a smirk, "because I might not be the fastest kid in the world, but I can jump pretty decent."
That's not all he can do. He can also light up a scoreboard.
He'll knock 3-pointers stiff from well beyond the 3-point line. Other times, when his jumper's not there, he'll put his head down and bully his way to the bucket for a layup, foul or both.
"Somebody in his past really did a great job of teaching him to compete," says Chesterton head coach Tom Peller, while watching Novak dunk on a helpless soul at a recent open gym. "He's a true competitor. He'll compete as hard as he can at anything, whether he's playing basketball or poker. That's just the way he is."
That's just the way he was raised, the lone child of former standout Clark athletes Dave Novak and Dana Kilander (her maiden name). Zack was born in North Hammond, and if he'd stayed there he might've found his way to Clark or maybe even East Chicago. Imagine those possibilities.
But his family moved to Porter when he was four, and the house he lived in was right next door to Hawthorne Park.
The basketball court there butted against their back yard, and that is where Zack Novak first fell in love with basketball. He shot baskets a lot. Sometimes his mom, a high school basketball player herself, would play against him.
Sometimes it was Dave, who played at Clark and a year at Purdue Calumet. Or, sometimes it was a group of Chesterton High School kids -- who invited the young Novak to fill a spot.
Later, when Zack was in middle school, Dave coached a team of Chesterton kids that included many of the same guys from this season's Duneland Conference championship team.
He and Zack would pile into Dave's tan conversion van and make treks all over the state to play in tournaments. On one of the trips, Dave stopped into an antique store in Martinsville and picked up a VHS tape about Damon Bailey -- the prep phenom and former Indiana Hoosiers star. His van had a TV/VCR unit, and Zack used it. A lot.
"He'd sit back there and just watch this Damon Bailey video over and over," Dave says, chuckling. "I got sick of hearing this thing over and over, but he never got tired of it. He found it really entertaining."
Fitting that he would, since Zack Novak is a bit of a high school phenom himself.
He's been playing varsity since he was a freshman. Now, as a senior, he's the Trojans' career leading scorer. Yet, at the beginning of this season, things weren't so rosey. Valparaiso University, the school that had been recruiting him since his sophomore year, informed him they needed a big man instead.
And with virtually no other offers, Novak started to feel pressure. All the stinging criticisms stung even worse. It all built up inside until finally, he dealt with it the only way he knew how. He vowed to prove people wrong.
"He just said, 'Don't worry about it, Dad,'" Dave Novak recalls. "'I'm going to have a huge year.'"
Huge, indeed. Novak scored 26.9 points a game and grabbed nearly eight rebounds per game. He hit shots early in games. He hit shots late. He defended guys both bigger and smaller. In short, whenever the Trojans needed an ace, he was right there with a maroon cape around his neck.
"It was just of one of those things where I had nothing to lose," Novak says, hunching his shoulders. "I'd actually lost what I had. I'd had things before that I'd waited on, and then I lost them."
He pauses. Thinks about the hard feelings in his gut on just the second day of school this year, when VU went in another direction.
"That was rough, just because I had no one talking to me," he says. "My future was uncertain, and here I am ... I'm just going to be known as this huge disappointment ... to everybody. I know how it is. Here's a kid who's played since he was a freshman, and everyone's thinking, 'Oh, he's going to go big,' and all of a sudden he's a senior and he's got nothing. Doesn't look too good. Looks like either I screwed something up or something didn't go right. So, I just kind of used it all as motivation."
Everything negative got funneled into his game -- from the slams on his physical ability to the fact the Post-Tribune neglected to include him in its pre-season "Fab Five" of the area's top five players. He trained harder. He fixed his jump shot thanks to some handy advice by Crown Point senior Stephen Albrecht, also a shooting whiz.
He lost 20 pounds after getting too bulky from lifting weights.
And the results were on display all winter long -- when Novak used his critics as fuel for the inner fire that eventually impressed Michigan coach John Beilein enough to give him a scholarship. Novak also won back interest and offers from some mid-majors, including VU -- which made a late, unsuccessful push to sign him.
Oh, to know what went through the young man's mind on that cold January night against Lake Central. Too short? Not fast enough? Can't guard anybody? CAN'T JUMP?!?!?
One powerful, graceful hop is all it took for him to answer. With several college coaches sitting right behind the basket that night, Zack Novak thundered home his own message to all of his doubters.
In ... your ... FACE!