DEEP IMPACT: Steve Novak has become the Knicks’ most dangerous 3-pointer shooter, a skill he first developed at Brown Deer High School with his coach, and father, Mike Novak (middle) and brother Chris (left) (
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HOMETOWN HERO: Steve Novak stayed in-state for college, attending Marquette and is the school’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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Steve Novak’s father, Brown Deer (Wisc.) High School athletic director Mike Novak, may or may not catch the whole fourth quarter of the Knicks-Bucks game at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center one week from today.
Steve Novak’s sister, Maggie, is playing a first-round state high-school playoff game that same night. Tip-off for the Divine Savior Holy Angels is 7 p.m. A 20-minute drive west in downtown Milwaukee, the Knicks face the Bucks at 7:30 p.m.
Maggie, a junior, is the youngest of Mike Novak’s four children. The elder Novak stepped down as Brown Deer’s head coach four years ago to become AD so he could watch his youngest child play. Mike Novak saw every one of Steve’s high-school games — he was the head coach for 24 years.
“We’ll follow our philosophies and go to her game first, then drive to Milwaukee,’’ Mike Novak told The Post yesterday. “That was the reason I got out of coaching. It is her time in high school to shine. I’ve seen Steve play a lot of games. We’ll stay with her.’’’
Maggie Novak isn’t the only Novak child shining on the court. It’s Steve Novak’s time to shine in the NBA. The emails and phone messages poured into Brown Deer High yesterday. Steve is the talk of the hallways again in the Milwaukee suburban school, just as Novak’s teammate, Jeremy Lin, and the Knicks are the talk of the nation.
Novak has been a giant part of the Knicks’ resurgence in the Linsanity Era, exhibiting the hottest 3-point shooting touch in the NBA these past 3 1/2 weeks. Novak drilled five 3-pointers in a six-minute span of the second half, scoring 17 points in 17 minutes to help beat the Cavaliers on Wednesday, and had the Garden crowd jubilantly chanting his name.
Mike Novak watches all the Knicks games on his league-pass package, or DVR, but has never been to the Garden. He will make it there for the first time on Easter Sunday when the Knicks host the Celtics.
“It’s real exciting around here today with the phone calls, emails, walking up the hallways,’’ Mike Novak said. “The Knicks are making a big splash around here right now. The ability was always there. I think he just needed a little more [playing] time.’’
The shooting ability can be traced to the basement of Steve Novak’s old house in Milwaukee County. An adjustable hoop was placed downstairs, with an electronic tracking device to count the number of shots. Mike Novak believes Steve was five years old on the Sunday his son hoisted 2,000 shots at the hoop with his mini basketball. At least that’s what the tracker counted.
It became more serious when Steve, from first grade on, attended his father’s high-school practices. Almost all of them. A half-court asphalt basketball court was built in the backyard, but that was mostly to attract his friends to come over and play.
“I was in that gym all the time,’’ Steve Novak said yesterday after practice. “[My father] really taught me to shoot. I just loved being in the gym with him, just shooting during his practice. I was just a little guy.’’
“He went to grade school eight miles from the practices,’’ Mike Novak recalled. “His mother would drop him off. His work ethic was unquestioned. He learned the fundamentals of form from me and to be efficient. He learned footwork from [Novak’s coach at Marquette] Tom Crean. But beyond that, his outside shooting is a gift from God because it doesn’t always develop.’’
Novak was a starter as a high school freshman, already 6-foot-8 — the height of his father, who played college ball at Carroll College in Wisconsin. Steve Novak carried his team to the state semifinals as a senior, despite two freshmen in the starting lineup, including his younger brother Chris. Mike Novak knew Steve had Division I — and NBA — potential when he dropped 41 points on the University of Wisconsin’s top recruit, Ray Nixon.
Novak chose to stay home and attend Marquette over Florida and Illinois because of the attention Crean paid him. “[He] went to almost every one of Steve’s games,’’ Mike Novak said.
During the lockout, Steve stayed in Milwaukee and worked out almost every day at the Marquette gym. When the lockout ended, Novak played it safe and re-signed with the Spurs on a non-guaranteed contract, having played 23 games in San Antonio last season.
According to a source, when Knicks interim general manager Glen Grunwald expressed interest in him soon after, Novak regretted the decision, knowing he would thrive in D’Antoni’s speedball offense reliant on the 3-pointer. The Spurs did not have big plans for Novak and a mutual decision was reached to place him on waivers, according to a source. The Knicks signed him when he cleared, becoming his fifth team in six seasons.
The Clippers were the only other team to give Novak playing time, and he played 125 games during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. Jeff Van Gundy drafted Novak in Houston but did not give him extended minutes.
Why did it take so long?
“I’ve asked that question a lot myself,’’ Mike Novak said. “He’s always been that kind of shooter, it’s not something new. Certain teams have certain obligations. The Knicks’ situation, people are stepping up and taking opportunities when given them. If Steve could have planned it this way, he would have.”
marc.berman@nypost.com