Former Golden Eagle, Novak, extended qualifying offer from Clippers

July 6, 11:15 PMMarquette Golden Eagles ExaminerBrian Neuberger

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Steve Novak (AP)

Brown Deer native and former Marquette sharpshooter Steve Novak was extended a qualifying offer from the Los Angeles Clippers last week, a move that makes Novak a restricted free agent (as a restricted free agent, Novak is able to accept an offer from another club; however, the Clippers have the right to match any offer and retain him) heading into the 2009-10 NBA season.

As a reserve forward for LA’s other team last season, Novak played in a career-high 71 games (including three starts) and averaged 6.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game while shooting .444 from the field, .416 from three-point range (19th in the NBA) and a team-leading .913 from the free-throw line.

The 32nd selection in the 2006 NBA Draft, the 6’10”, 220-pound Novak has career averages of 4.8 points, 1.3 rebounds, .4 assists and .2 steals while playing for the Houston Rockets (2006-08) and the aforementioned Clippers during his three-year professional career.

While the previously listed statistics do not scream fantasy league heartthrob to NBA fans by any stretch of the imagination, Novak’s legacy within the annals of the Marquette basketball program, however, is unquestioned.

A member of the 2003 Conference USA All-Freshman Team and unanimous 2006 All-Big East First Team selection, Novak holds the Golden Eagles record for career three-point field goals made (354) and a school-record 68 consecutive free throws made (which ranks as the third-highest total in NCAA Division I history behind the 85 of Butler’s Darnell Archey from 2000-2003 and Villanova’s Gary Buchanan who connected on 73 consecutive tosses spanning the 2000-2001 seasons).

Prior to hitting the hardwood for Tom Crean in 2002, Novak was regarded as one the purest shooters in Wisconsin high school basketball history—a reputation that grew considerably over the next four seasons.

As a freshman, Novak played in all 33 games and led the Golden Eagles in three-point (.505) and free-throw percentage (.939) en route to the gold and blue’s march to the 2003 NCAA Final Four in New Orleans. Seeing as how Dwyane Wade, Travis Diener and company were narrowly defeated by eventual National Runner-Up Kansas, 94-61, let us move onto the next point.

After averaging 13.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and shooting .450 from deep and .910 from the charity stripe during his sophomore and junior seasons (including starting 58 out of a possible 61 games), Novak took his game to new heights during his senior campaign.

While Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison and Duke’s J.J. Redick conducted their own year long anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better cross country shootout that captivated the national media and audiences alike during the 2005-06 season, Novak quietly put together a year that (from a marksman standpoint) was equally impressive to either All American.

As co captain (alongside fellow senior Joe Chapman) of the 20-11 Golden Eagles, Novak averaged 17.5 points per game (nearly double his 10.9 career scoring average leading up to his senior year), 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists per game and career highs in three-point (.467 on 121-229 shooting) and free-throw (a jaw dropping .974 that would have been the second highest single-season total in NCAA history had he attempted at least 100 free throws) shooting. For those scoring at home, Novak’s long distance and free-throw wizardry topped both Morrison (.428 and .772) and Redick’s (.421 and .863) end-of-year averages.

In addition, during the course of his senior season, Novak embodied the true assassin the Marquette fans dreamed of since the 2002 Gatorade Wisconsin High School Boys Basketball Player of the Year signed his letter of intent to MU.

Perhaps the two most memorable Novak moments during his final season in Milwaukee was his 41-point, 16-rebound performance against second-ranked UConn in Marquette’s first Big East contest in January 2006 and his game-winning jump shot with just over one second to play at home to beat Notre Dame (a moment that was topped only by his last-second three pointer to break the hearts of the Sacramento Kings and preserve the Rockets’ 22-game winning streak during the 2007-08 NBA season).

The cherries on top for Novak’s stellar senior campaign was winning the 2006 NCAA three-point shootout and finishing his career as the 13th all-time leading scorer in Marquette history with 1,567 points.

So while we will not be seeing his name on an upcoming NBA All-Defensive Team or have his low post moves mistaken for those of Kevin McHale, Novak is Marquette through and through. And whether he finishes his career in Clipper blue and red (and, for Novak’s sake, I pray that is not the case) or takes his game overseas, Steve Novak, ultimately, will have a legion of Golden Eagle supporters and followers behind him each three-point basket after the next during his professional career.