Photo by: Austin Perryman/MSU Athletics
Novak: 'We've Got A Job To Do'
November 11, 2021 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE – Doug Novak had only been at Mississippi State a grand total of 63 days before he made his coaching debut on Tuesday.
In that short span, Novak has gone being a newly hired assistant coach to the Bulldogs' interim head coach after Nikki McCray-Penson resigned on Oct. 12. But despite his limited time with the team, the 30-year coaching veteran has settled into his new surroundings quite well.
"I feel like I've been here for 20 years with this team in terms of how much we've gone through and how much we're working on developing as a team," Novak said. "I don't feel new. This doesn't feel like a new environment. It just feels like we've got a job to do."
That job is to hold together a proud program that is only three years removed from back-to-back appearances in the national championship. MSU is coming off a 10-9 campaign and saw its streak of five-straight NCAA Tournament bids come to an end.
Novak isn't the only one to notice how quickly he has been able to acclimate himself to the team. The players gravitated toward him instantly and earned their respect right from the start.
"The first day coach Doug coached us in practice, it felt like he'd been here forever," said junior forward Rickea Jackson "It didn't feel like he was new. He came in and was vocal and I think everybody just noticed that he had a great basketball mind from Day 1. He knew what he was doing from Day 1 so it just felt like he's been here forever."
Even though the circumstances were less than ideal at the beginning, Novak has been able to rally the team together over the past few weeks and gained their confidence heading into the 2021-22 season opener.
"We trust coach Doug and his coaching staff to come in and work with what we have," said redshirt senior guard Myah Taylor. "I think he's done an amazing job of just putting everything together. It's all about trust and I think we go out there and play hard for him, the coaching staff, for each other and definitely for the fans."
Jackson, Taylor and the rest of the Bulldogs were able earn Novak his first victory as a women's basketball coach with their 91-62 win over Alabama State on Tuesday. Novak had spent the entirety of his career coaching men prior to his arrival in Starkville.
While the win was special, Novak was even more elated to see some of the principals he and his staff have tried to instill into the team during his short tenure implemented on the court.
"I don't want to downplay the winning part of it because that's what we're all out here for and we all want that," Novak said. "But we're fighting for so much more right now in terms of how we're going to play and the identity. We've shown bits and pieces of it and we just need to keep it going just a little longer as we face some tougher teams."
Mississippi State jumped out 53-31 in the opening half and held the Hornets to just eight points in the second quarter. With such a lopsided score, Novak was a little disappointed to see his team lose their concentration during spurts of the second half.
"There was just a tiny stretch where we started looking at the scoreboard and not really focusing on our standard of play and how we want to execute," Novak said. "I hate to say it but that is normal. I don't want that to be normal for us. (Whether) we're up 20 or down 20, it doesn't matter, we want to be so tough that regardless of the score how we play this game matters."
The Bulldogs will continue to work on that toughness on Friday when they host South Dakota State at 6 p.m.
In that short span, Novak has gone being a newly hired assistant coach to the Bulldogs' interim head coach after Nikki McCray-Penson resigned on Oct. 12. But despite his limited time with the team, the 30-year coaching veteran has settled into his new surroundings quite well.
"I feel like I've been here for 20 years with this team in terms of how much we've gone through and how much we're working on developing as a team," Novak said. "I don't feel new. This doesn't feel like a new environment. It just feels like we've got a job to do."
That job is to hold together a proud program that is only three years removed from back-to-back appearances in the national championship. MSU is coming off a 10-9 campaign and saw its streak of five-straight NCAA Tournament bids come to an end.
Novak isn't the only one to notice how quickly he has been able to acclimate himself to the team. The players gravitated toward him instantly and earned their respect right from the start.
"The first day coach Doug coached us in practice, it felt like he'd been here forever," said junior forward Rickea Jackson "It didn't feel like he was new. He came in and was vocal and I think everybody just noticed that he had a great basketball mind from Day 1. He knew what he was doing from Day 1 so it just felt like he's been here forever."
Even though the circumstances were less than ideal at the beginning, Novak has been able to rally the team together over the past few weeks and gained their confidence heading into the 2021-22 season opener.
"We trust coach Doug and his coaching staff to come in and work with what we have," said redshirt senior guard Myah Taylor. "I think he's done an amazing job of just putting everything together. It's all about trust and I think we go out there and play hard for him, the coaching staff, for each other and definitely for the fans."
Jackson, Taylor and the rest of the Bulldogs were able earn Novak his first victory as a women's basketball coach with their 91-62 win over Alabama State on Tuesday. Novak had spent the entirety of his career coaching men prior to his arrival in Starkville.
While the win was special, Novak was even more elated to see some of the principals he and his staff have tried to instill into the team during his short tenure implemented on the court.
"I don't want to downplay the winning part of it because that's what we're all out here for and we all want that," Novak said. "But we're fighting for so much more right now in terms of how we're going to play and the identity. We've shown bits and pieces of it and we just need to keep it going just a little longer as we face some tougher teams."
Mississippi State jumped out 53-31 in the opening half and held the Hornets to just eight points in the second quarter. With such a lopsided score, Novak was a little disappointed to see his team lose their concentration during spurts of the second half.
"There was just a tiny stretch where we started looking at the scoreboard and not really focusing on our standard of play and how we want to execute," Novak said. "I hate to say it but that is normal. I don't want that to be normal for us. (Whether) we're up 20 or down 20, it doesn't matter, we want to be so tough that regardless of the score how we play this game matters."
The Bulldogs will continue to work on that toughness on Friday when they host South Dakota State at 6 p.m.
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