First of all, apologies for the lack of posting/semi-retirement over the past winter. But like the great Michael Jordan, every once in a while you just have to take some time off to sharpen up your baseball game and/or save the Looney Tunes from enslavement. With that said, we are back just in time for the biggest race of the year in sports. As you already know, over the past few decades basketball has become increasingly dominated by speed and athleticism and there just isn't as much room for your average skinny white boys. Fortunately, there is one thing ensuring that they will never be completely pushed out: the three point line. Over the past decade, players such as Fred Hoiberg and Jason Kapono have kept their spot on an NBA roster and won yearly awards for best three point percentage. This year, with just over a week left in the season, Steve Novak of the Knicks looks to follow legends Kyle Korver and Matt Bonner to make it a Caucasian three-peat. It is a tight race as Novak and45.8% three point shooting is followed closely by Ramon Sessions, Ersan Ilyasova (a respectable European, but still), Stephen Curry's half season stats, and Ray Allen all within one percent.
If there are any doubts about Novak's skills I will quickly clear them up with a few stats. Despite being 6'10, he has chucked up a total of 238 three pointers and just 53 twos giving him an 81.7% three point selection percentage. For comparison, Kyle Korver is at 66.1%, J.J. Redick is at 46.7%, and Jimmer Fredette is at 49.6%. Even Jason McElwain drove to the rim more often than Novak. While he is nowhere near Korver's NBA record 53.6% shooting, Novak is burying his treys at a pretty damn respectable rate. And since I'm just throwing out random stats, I'd also like to point out that he's whiffed on about 60.4% of his high fives this year.
Anyway, if you want to know how he became the superstar he is today, the fact that he grew up in a town called "Brown Deer, Wisconsin" pretty much speaks for itself. During his time at Marquette, he broke fellow star Travis Diener's school records for three point shooting and free throw shooting, led his conference in three point shooting every year, and also managed to pick up a degree in communications studies (don't know how you make it in the NBA without one). His road to the top of the NBA was never easy, bouncing between Houston, LA Clippers, and San Antonio with a few stints in the D-League before shining in New York. Clearly fueled by the fire of not making the cut of the MIB White Man Tourney, Novak has exploded with one of the most impressive seasons in recent memory, largely due to him trying to jack Aaron Rodger's Discount Doublecheck celebration, and his decision to wear the same #16 as a former St Xavier football legend. Now, he looks to finish the year off strong and securing the three point crown, carving out his spot as an all time white legend.
