The Un-Fab Two

continued

In practice, Amaker’s teams never reached the NCAA tournament, and after six seasons he was fired. In the fall of 2008, as Beilein started his second season, his prospects didn’t look much better: he was coming off a 10–22 record, and his best recruits were Douglass and Novak—two kids from Indiana that nobody else in the Big Ten wanted.

There was open grumbling, not just about the new coach’s inability to find the next Rose or Webber, but at his seeming indifference to the need. Michigan State fans joked that Beilein was remaking Hoosiers rather than remaking a Big Ten program.

Just three years later, Michigan is again a Top 25 team—and Novak and Douglass are its emotional hubs. They have been the two biggest on-court constants as the Wolverines returned to the NCAA Tournament and national relevance. They are still not NBA prospects, but more and more they are molding teammates with that potential.

And, no, they will never be Rose and Webber. But however this season turns out, it’s already obvious what Novak and Douglass are: the two kids who proved that Michigan basketball doesn’t need the Fab Five to still matter.

---