Marquette University Athletics
Rockets thrilled to have Novak
6/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
June 30, 2006
Associated Press
HOUSTON -- Steve Novak set his sights on the NBA in eighth grade and came up with a plan to get there: He would make 300 jump shots every day.
All the practice paid off this week when the Houston Rockets drafted the 6-foot-10 Marquette star in the second round.
"I knew I wanted to separate myself from other shooters," Novak said Friday. "I decided that making 300 jump shots a day would be what I needed to do. In my mind, you had to make 300, because anybody can go and shoot 300 shots."
A college teammate of Dwyane Wade, Novak owns the Marquette record for 3-pointers (354) and shot 93 percent from the free-throw line in college.
He dazzled the Rockets at a workout in May and could be the dependable long-range shooter that Houston desperately needed.
The Rockets were the league's second-lowest scoring team last season and among the worst shooting teams. Their inconsistency on the perimeter allowed teams to get away with double-teaming Yao Ming or Tracy McGrady.
"We think he's going to add a great deal, as far as spreading the floor," Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said. "We're very thrilled to have him here."
At Marquette Novak played for Tom Crean, a close friend of Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. Crean runs pro-style offensive sets that the Rockets say will put Novak ahead of the usual rookie learning curve.
"He has a little bit of an advantage," Dawson said. "The spot-up shooting, he does that very well, but he shoots off the move and he hunts his shot very well when the coach calls the play."
Novak's father, Mike, was his high school coach and set up a half-court in the back yard of their home in Brown Deer, Wis. While Novak spent countless hours perfecting his shot, he'll now focus on bulking up and improving his defense.
"I have a long way to go to get to where I want to be and where the Rockets want me to be," Novak said.
He still talks to Wade, who just led Miami to its first NBA championship, and asks him for advice when he can.
"He changes his cell-phone number about every month, so it's hard to get a hold of him," Novak said. "When I talk to him, he always has some very insightful things to say because of the things he's been through and the guys he's played with."
At least two of Novak's new teammates know what he can do. Novak's Marquette team eliminated Kentucky and current Rockets Chuck Hayes and Keith Bogans from the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
Hayes was one of the first Rockets to welcome Novak, although talk of the NCAA Tournament game didn't come up.
"We played together that summer," Novak said, "so if there were ever any hard feelings, they were taken out then."
The Rockets were still not allowed to discuss a reported draft-night trade that sent their first-round pick, Rudy Gay, and Stromile Swift to Memphis for Shane Battier.
NBA rules prohibit teams from announcing certain trades until next season's salary cap figure is determined. That is expected to happen by July 12.
