He’s trying to become one in a line of Michigan basketball players heading to the prestigious Ross School of Business for an undergraduate degree.

It’s not the only reason sophomore guard Zack Novak made the decision to apply to the school. He sees his future in business.

But it is a cool side effect being the first player under John Beilein to be accepted into the school. He’s the first U-M basketball player in the program since former Wolverine Chris Hunter, who graduated in 2006.

“It’s going pretty well so far,” Novak said. “I really have to thank Rob Koonce. Unfortunately, he just passed away recently, which is really a tragedy, but he was a big part of me getting in, so I owe a lot of that to him, but it’s going well so far.

Koonce, a Michigan academic adviser to the Ross school, died last week.

Novak, who scored 15 points in Friday night’s exhibition win over Wayne State, doesn’t know what his post-basketball career plans are.

And considering the economy, he said, he’s not going to picky, although he has ruled out becoming a sports agent, which usually requires a law degree.

“Maybe something with marketing,” Novak said. “I’m supposed to go sit down with a counselor soon, and they are going to figure out my interests and what I’d be wanting to do for the rest of my life.

“So we’ll see.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.