The Times Athlete of the Week: Marquette’s Alec Novotney

Securing 51 of 123 votes cast, Marquette Academy boys basketball’s Alec Novotney is The Times Athlete of the Week.

Weekly ballots go online Mondays/Tuesdays and are accessible via Facebook (The Times Sports) and Twitter (@jtpedelty), with voting going through midday Wednesday.

Also on last week’s ballot were runner-up Nick Plesko (Woodland boys basketball), Alyssa Zellers (Seneca girls basketball) and Hannah Treptow (Sandwich girls basketball).

Novotney, a junior, scored 26 points as sixth-seeded Marquette upset No. 2-seeded Roanoke-Benson 63-42 on its way to a runner-up finish in the Tri-County Conference Tournament, and more recently he scored his 1,000th career varsity point.

Here is a Q&A with this week’s winner:

How old were you when you started playing basketball, and what got you into the sport?

Novotney: My dad when I was 3.

What goals do you have for yourself and for the team as the regular season winds down and the postseason approaches?

Novotney: Win the regional.

As good as you are at basketball, you’re probably more widely known as a baseball player, including being the reigning Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 1A Player of the Year. How do you handle the transition between high school basketball and baseball seasons? Do you do much baseball in the winter?

Novotney: I enjoy playing both sports, and yes.

Your family has a long, rich history in baseball, most recently your dad, Josh Novotney, who starred at Marquette and at Division-I Western Kentucky University, and an uncle-by-marriage, Adam Shabala, who played professionally with the San Francisco Giants. How much has baseball been a part of your family life growing up?

Novotney: A lot.

What’s your favorite subject in school?

Novotney: Science.

What movie would you say you’ve watched more than any other? About how many times?

Novotney: “Major League,” five times.

If you could have a long conversation over lunch with anyone in human history, who would you choose?

Novotney: Albert Pujols.

You and the team just scored a big victory and are going out to dinner to celebrate. Where are you going, and what are you ordering?

Novotney: Tapatios, tacos.

Do you have any college plans yet?

Novotney: I plan to play baseball in college.