8 - Friday, February 24, 2012

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

8 - ridy, ebrary24, 012TheMiciga Daiy -micigadaiyco


Douglass, Novak take to Crisler for final time

By BEN ESTES
Daily Sports Editor
Zack Novak and Stu Douglass
first recognized each other at an
AAU tournament the summer
before their senior year of high
school. It was probably at Notre
Dame, though
nobody's sure.P
Neither player
was especially Michigan
noticeable, so Matchup:
neither fully Purdue 18-10;
remembers that Michigan 21-7
first encounter: When: Satur-
They offi- day, 6 p.m.
cially met at an
Indiana state Where: Crisler
all-star game C
after the con- TV/Radio:
clusion of their BTN
senior seasons,
when both of them had committed
to Michigan.
On Saturday, four years and 130
games later, the pair of Hoosier
State natives, whose fortunes at
Michigan have been inextrica-
bly bound, will take the court at
Crisler Center for the last time.
It will be the first senior-night
ceremony in two years for the
Wolverines. They didn't have any
seniors on the team last season,
so Novak and Douglass have been
the team's elder statesmen for two
years now. And though the senior
guards have been busy focusing on
the season, they've had moments
where the reality of their careers
coming to an end has hit them.
"It was kind of weird to think
about ... where we've come since
(freshman year)," Douglass said.
"It's a little bit of a blur, (and)
everything kind of gets jumbled
together, but it'sweird.
"It's kind of a mixture of both
- it seems like you've been here
forever, but then I look back and it
feels like it was just yesterday that
I was roommates with Ben (Cro-
nin) in West Quad."
The duo's careers were linked
even before they got to Ann Arbor.
Both Novak and Douglass were
undersized, relatively unathletic

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from Indiana. Unsurpris- West Lafayette on Jan. 24. The
hey didn't attract a lot of Wolverines controlled the affair
ng attention. Douglass most of the night, though the Boil-
know if he'd get to play ermakers made alate run in vain.
n-I basketball after Colora- In that matchup, Michigan did a
d its scholarship offer, and decent job on star Purdue forward
wasn't sure if he'd play bas- Robbie Hummel, holding him to
at all, with his only offer 6-of-14 shooting, but struggled
from Valparaiso. more in containing point guard
Michigan coach John Lewis Jackson. Beilein praised the
eventually called. He elite quickness of Jackson, who
eally need to try hard to finished with 17 points and eight
e Douglass or Novak to assists. The Boilermakers come
e Wolverines considering to Crisler in a chaotic state. Pur-
mited options, but he still due coach Matt Painter dismissed
em on helping rebuild a backup guard Kelsey Barlow and
eat program in the midst suspended guard D.J. Byrd (who
2 season. has since returned) for their roles
dy imagined the pair in an alleged bar fight.
lead Michigan back to But Purdue has won three of its
tier of the Big Ten -not past four games and is desperately
e players themselves. And looking for a big win to get off the
nd Douglass have had lots bubble and lock down an NCAA
in leading the Wolverines Tournament bid. The Wolverines
recipice of a third NCAA saw firsthand how hard a team in
ment appearance in their that situation will fight, needing
asons, but from the days overtime to defeat Northwestern
mpeted for a starting spot on Tuesday night. Still, Beilein's
men, they've helped lead team has won four straightgames,
n together. its longest streak of the confer-
ence season. And while the game
against the Wildcats was on the
road, Michigan gets to play the
[t feels like Boilermakers at home, where it's
won all15of its games.
e been here The Wolverines will be extra
motivated to get their senior lead-
'ever, so the ers a victory in their last time
.i. . taking the Crisler Center court.
ing s right. Douglass said he's constantly
reminded that his time is run-
ning out. Beilein will mention
how many games he has left, or
time you can do some- sophomore guard Tim Hardaway
ith someone else, share an Jr. will remind him while walking
nce, it's generally better," through the tunnel out to practice,
aid. "We've been through forcing Douglass to tell him to
Ve've seen a lot of things. shut up.
it's just a bond that we'll Against Purdue on Saturday, he
ever." and Novak won't need any more
tting, in a way, that Novak reminders.
uglass will play Purdue in "It feels like I've been here for-
al home game. The Boiler- ever, so the timing is right," Dou-
were one of many in-state glass said.


0

programs to overlook the pair out
of high school. Michigan topped
Purdue in the teams' other meet-
ing this season, a 66-64 win in

FOLLOW ALONG LIVE
Check MchgasDaily.confor a
live blog from Crisler Center.

Senior guards Stu Douglass (top) and Zack Novak (bottom) will play their last home game at Crisler Center on Saturday
against Purdue. The duo has led Michigan from a middling Big Ten team to a conference-championship contender.

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