Stanley Novak ( – October 21, 2006) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player, coach and scout. He was a longtime fixture of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA), starting his career as a player with the Lancaster Red Roses in 1948 and spending the following four decades as head coach of various teams until his coaching retirement in 1980. Novak won four league championships and was a six-time Coach of the Year selection. He worked in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) as director of scouting for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

from 1980 to 1992 and

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

from 1992 to 1997.

Early life

Novak was a native of

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Although there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the n ...

. He was a childhood friend of Jack McCloskey; the two would go on to be teammates on the

Penn Quakers The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 33 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing. Sponsored teams Men's varsit ...

and Sunbury Mercuries, and worked together with the

. Novak attended

West Philadelphia High School West Philadelphia High School is a secondary school located in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the intersection of 49th Street and Chestnut Street (Philadelphia), Chestnut Street. History 20th century The original ...

where he led the team's basketball team to the Public League championship in 1941. Novak played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the Penn Quakers. He was chosen as the team's most valuable player in 1944. Novak's collegiate career was interrupted by a stint as an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He served as Quakers team captain during the 1947–48 season.

Playing career

Novak played four games for the Lancaster Red Roses of the

Eastern Professional Basketball League The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(EPBL) during the 1948–49 season. He played 70 games for the Sunbury Mercuries of the EPBL from 1949 to 1957 while he also served as the team's head coach.

Coaching career

Penn

Novak coached the Penn Quakers freshman basketball team during the 1948–49 season.

Springfield Township HS

Novak served as the head coach of the basketball team at

Springfield Township High School Springfield Township High School (commonly STHS) is a public high school serving grades 9-12. The school serves Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Springfield Township, Pennsylvania, and is the sole high school of the Springf ...

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County, colloquially referred to as Montco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,553, making it the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania after Philadel ...

, from 1949 to 1967 while he was also employed as a teacher. He accumulated a 245–89 record. Novak also coached the baseball, cross country and tennis teams.

EPBL/EBA/CBA

Novak was the head coach of the Sunbury Mercuries in the EPBL from 1949 to 1959. He stepped down as head coach in 1959 due to "family ties, teaching-coaching chores ... and officiating duties." Novak returned to the same position from 1960 to 1963. Novak moved to the Trenton Colonials for the 1963–64 season. He returned to the Sunbury Mercuries from 1964 to 1967. Novak was head coach of the

Wilkes-Barre Barons The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different United States, American sports league, leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playin ...

from 1967 to 1970. The Barons achieved 26 wins and 2 losses during the 1968–69 season which was a league-best record. He was head coach of the Scranton Apollos of the renamed Eastern Basketball Association (EBA) from 1970 to 1977. Novak joined the

Allentown Jets The Allentown Jets were a minor league basketball team that played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (later the Eastern Basketball Association and Continental Basketball Association) from 1958 to 1981. The team was one of the most suc ...

for the 1977–78 season. He had his final coaching stint as head coach of the Lancaster Red Roses in the renamed Continental Basketball Association (CBA) during the 1979–80 season. Novak won four championships: with the Mercuries in 1951, Barons in 1969, and with the Apollos in 1971 and 1977. He was named Coach of the Year six times; the CBA honored him by renaming the award to the "Stan Novak Coach of the Year Award". Several of his players embarked on successful coaching careers including

Jack Ramsay John Travilla Ramsay (February 21, 1925 – April 28, 2014) was an American basketball coach, commonly known as "Dr. Jack" (as he held an earned doctorate). He was best known for leading the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship, ...

, Jack McCloskey,

Jim Boeheim James Arthur Boeheim Jr. ( ; born November 17, 1944) is an American former college basketball coach and current Special Assistant to the Athletic Director at Syracuse University. From 1976 until 2023, he was the head coach of the Syracuse Orange ...

and John Chaney. Novak was announced as head coach of the EBA all-time team when the CBA celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1996. Novak was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.

Officiating career

Novak briefly worked as a collegiate referee during his EPBL career. He officiated a game between the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the college athletics, athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson (athletic director), Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and masco ...

and Saint Joseph's Hawks – coached respectively by "two of isbest friends", Harry Litwack and

– and made a decision that resulted in the outcome of the game; Novak reflected in a 1988 interview, "I felt so badly that I never refereed again."

Scouting career

Novak was the director of scouting for the

from 1980 to 1992. He convinced the Pistons to select

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...

in the second round of the

1986 NBA draft The 1986 NBA draft was held on June 17, 1986. Overview and aftermath This draft holds the record for the most players (out of prospects chosen) who later debuted in the NBA, with 66. Drug and health issues involving drafted players There were ...

despite a poor performance at a predraft camp. Novak served as director of scouting for the

from 1992 until his retirement in 1997. Novak also provided the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

with part-time scouting assignments.

Personal life and death

Novak was married to Carolyn who worked as a physical education teacher. He had two children. Novak died on October 21, 2006, of complications from a stroke at the age of 82.

References

External links

College statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novak, Stan Year of birth missing 2006 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia Detroit Pistons scouts Eastern Basketball Association coaches Jewish American basketball coaches Jewish American basketball players Lancaster Red Roses (CBA) players Minnesota Timberwolves scouts Penn Quakers men's basketball players Sunbury Mercuries players Utah Jazz scouts