The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Zack Novak Buoyed By Trip Across The Pacific Senior swingman Zack Novak felt a strong season coming on before he ever hopped a jet for Hawaii. Nothing he saw or experienced on this ocean excursion left him with a sink- ing feeling. Most of the Wolverines have been to the NCAA Tourna- ment, he pointed out, and U-M responded like it in Maui. Knocking off No. 8 Memphis, battling to the final minute with No. 6 Duke, and rebounding to take down UCLA dem- onstrated plenty, he insisted. "I thought we played well offensively," Novak said. "I know everyone was saying the offense wasn't looking great here. We missed open shots at home the first couple games, and we just didn't get as many possessions. "Now, we're starting to get a feel for each other, where we're going to be, and it's just encouraging." Novak felt the Wolverines reminded themselves about the ups and downs of the season, all in a three-day span leading up to Thanksgiving. "We've got that toughness we really pride ourselves on," he said. "The Duke game, the way it started off, was not good. We didn't get off to a great start at all, but we fought back. Even though we couldn't get over the hump, you've got to give them credit — they didn't miss a shot. Every shot they got went down. But we never gave up. "Then to come back the next day … we've been in that po- sition before. You lose that second game of the tournament, after an opening big win, that's tough. It's a roller coaster. Win that first game and you're high, then you lose, and it gets pretty low. We came back and got a big win against UCLA. That's good." That's also the resilience he sees already building in the 2011-12 Wolverines, Novak said. "Part of it is just the toughness of the team," he reiterated. Novak knocked down 7 of 8 shots, including 4 of 5 from three-point range, en route to 22 points in U-M's 79-63 victory over UCLA. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN okay, I know where we are a little bit right now," he said. "What is the best way for us to improve every day, be- cause you've got to get better. "I do see some things that are very promising. I also see a lot of things we have to really work at." The promising certainly included: • Burke's effort, including a 12.0 scoring average, 18 assists set against nine turnovers, 16-of-34 shooting, eight rebounds and two steals against some of the better competition Michi- gan will see. Instead of wilting when the heat came, the freshman heated up. • The Wolverines' defensive play, aside from Duke simply catching fire from beyond the three-point line. Memphis shot 33.1 percent and UCLA 41.8 percent, U-M taking a 56 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2011 "Part of it is the way we play. We don't turn the ball over a lot. We get good shots. We're not coming down and just jacking the ball up. That's when the other team's crowd gets into it, when they're scoring a lot quickly, creating turnovers, going out and getting dunks. We don't give that up a lot." — John Borton host of charges and showing the sort of effort Beilein is seeking. • The aforementioned rebound- ing advantage in all three games, certainly not a historical strength of Beilein squads. • Hardaway's take-charge scor- ing efforts, with Novak, Morgan and even sophomore backup center Jon Horford (12 points on 5-of-5 shoot- ing against UCLA) demonstrating the ability to put points on the board. Like Beilein noted, there were obvi- ous areas of necessary improvement. Michigan got sloppy with the bas- ketball in the finale against UCLA, turning the ball over 14 times, with senior Stu Douglass suffering five giveaways. "The backcourt really has to play," Beilein said. "Stu is not happy with his five turnovers in his last game. He's not happy about that, and no- body is happy about that. "If we have success on the road, I try to figure out why we have it. A turnover, half the time, turns into a fast-break layup, a fast-break dunk. It changes the energy in the game. But if you only turn it over eight or nine times a game, that limits those times of momentum. "I think our teams that, over the long run, have had a lot of success on the road, that's one of the reasons. That's why it's important that the backcourt has got to value the ball." For the most part, though, the Wol- verines valued the basketball they played in Maui, coming away con- firmed in their resolve to challenge in the Big Ten and beyond. ❏