When Atlantic Coast Conference schools shift gears from merely sending mail to actively recruiting a Wisconsin high school basketball prospect, it speaks volumes about the player's potential.
ACC schools simply don't recruit here unless they judge a player to be truly special.
Marshall Williams of Milwaukee Vincent signed with North Carolina State in the spring of 1999. Sixteen years earlier, Joe Wolf of Kohler signed with North Carolina. Sam Okey of Cassville also was courted by North Carolina before signing with Wisconsin. But the cases are rare.
Steve Novak, a 6-foot-9 forward from Brown Deer, might be the next exception.
National recruiting guru Bob Gibbons believes one or more ACC schools might make a pitch for Novak before this fall's signing period. Gibbons, who is based in Lenoir, N.C., expects that when he ranks next year's seniors, Novak might be included among the top 20 prospects in the country.
"There is a young man down here named Shavlik Randolph who is virtually the same size and a similar type player," said Gibbons. "In the preliminary rankings of the Class of 2002, he is a great candidate to be the No. 1 player in the country. He's 6-10 and goes to Raleigh Broughton High School and his grandfather was Ronnie Shavlik. Hence his first name, Shavlik.
"His mother was Ronnie Shavlik's daughter and his grandfather was an All-American for Everett Case at N.C. State. So he has the right bloodlines and he's a high priority for N.C. State, North Carolina and Duke. But he can only choose one of those schools, so the other two could be looking at a player like Steve Novak."
In fact, Gibbons doesn't see a huge difference between the two.
"This summer, if they happen to go head-to-head, I think Novak could hold his own against Shavlik Randolph," said Gibbons.
Ronnie Shavlik played at N.C. State from 1954-'56 and ranked sixth as of last season on the school's all-time scoring list. Maybe Novak's pedigree doesn't rise to the same level in terms of basketball status, but his father, Mike, stands 6-8 and played at Carroll College.
In turn, Ivan, Mike's father, played high school basketball at Reedsville and then Hilbert. In fact, Ivan would have been on Reedsville's celebrated 1946 state championship team if he hadn't moved.
Mike Novak said that Marquette and Wisconsin have shown the most interest in his son, but that several other schools also have been actively recruiting him. The list includes Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Purdue, Ohio State, Southern California and Utah.
Mike said Steve had yet to narrow his list of schools and probably wouldn't until after he participated in a showcase camp in New Jersey in July.
Not only is Novak being compared to some of the top players in the country, he is being placed in some pretty select company from a historical perspective.
Gibbons sees similarities between Novak and Wolf, perhaps the most heavily recruited player in the history of Wisconsin.
Wolf played four years at North Carolina and was an all-ACC selection as a senior. Selected 12th in the 1987 draft, he subsequently spent all or parts of 11 seasons in the NBA.
"Like Wolf, he has excellent offensive skills," said Gibbons. "He has the size that is a desirable commodity for every college program. He just seems to have all the requisite abilities that major college programs look for in a power forward or a center."
Versatility is certainly one of Novak's many assets. He shot 42.7% from three-point range and 89.9% from the free-throw line this past season.
Novak is clearly the best prospect in what appears to be a thin junior class. One Division I college coach said the class was particularly lacking in guards and also lacking in prospects from outside the Milwaukee area.
Another problem the coach foresees is that many of the prospects from the Milwaukee City Conference may not be eligible as college freshmen. J.R. Morris of Washington and Maurice Wade, Dejuante Wade and Greg Brown of Vincent might all fall into that category. Ditto for more borderline prospects such as Brandon Coleman of South, Brandon Miller of Madison and Carl Landry of Vincent.
The one exception might be Mohammed Konate, a 6-4 guard at Hamilton. Konate is a native of Africa who moved to Milwaukee from Georgia before last season.
"He is probably the biggest secret out there," said Curtis Weathers, who works with players through the Stay In The Game youth organization. "He's a legitimate Division I prospect."
Although not exceptionally quick or explosive, Grunfeld made huge strides over the course of the past high school season. He averaged 7.2 points per game as a sophomore and 17.2 as a junior.
He also grew an inch.
"Grunfeld is up and coming," said Marty McGlothan, a local Amateur Athletic Union coach for George Karl's foundation, Friends of Hoop. "If he has a growth spurt, he's going to be high, high major (college)."
Paul Hepp, the coach at Nicolet, said Grunfeld already was drawing serious interest from Utah and Tennessee, his dad's alma mater. Hepp said the previous Wisconsin staff also had shown interest.
Cudahy's Pierre Rembert, another junior prospect, will also be recruited by Division I schools for football.
Eight seniors from the state signed with Division I schools in the fall. In addition, Devin Harris of Wauwatosa East committed to Wisconsin during the season.
One of the more interesting recruiting developments to watch involves 6-2 shooting guard Mark Johnson of Oregon. Indiana University appears set to grant him preferred walk-on status and assure him a spot on its roster, according to Kevin Bavery, Johnson's high school coach.