firms after playing overseas in Hol-
land, and is putting his Michigan
business degree to good use.
The basketball program is now
among the nation's best, having won
two Big Ten titles in three years and
advancing to the title game and the
Elite Eight the past two seasons. No-
vak is as responsible as anyone for
changing the culture with his leader-
ship and overachievement.
"It wasn't just me," he insisted. "I
think a lot of the guys I played with,
we're all pretty proud of it. We got
there early on, and Coach [John]
Beilein really sold us on the fact that
we were going to change things and
really establish the foundation. That's
really what happened.
"We came in and set a culture.
Guys that came in as freshmen saw
there was only one way to do things
— the right way."
Beilein took a chance on a kid from
Indiana with no high-major offers
and, like the football coaches did with
Heininger, turned his small invest-
ment into a fortune that keeps pay-
ing.
"It's unbelievable," Novak said.
"I feel like if I went through it again
100 times, it wouldn't work out that
way."
But it did, and like Heininger, he's
doing his alma mater proud.
Neither will have his number re-
tired, but both will never be forgotten
— at least not here. ❏
Chris Balas has been with The Wolverine since 1997, working part time for five years
before joining the staff full time in 2002. Contact him at cbalas@thewolverine.com
and follow him on Twitter at Balas_Wolverine.
