DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — There have been times this season when Tim Pollitz has been able to do what seemed utterly impossible. Like run more than several steps without feeling like his left knee was about to fall off.

The wonder isn't that Miami University's 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward was the dominant player in last week's Mid-American Conference Tournament and was named MVP, averaging 22 points a game while shooting 75.6 percent from the field (31-of-41).

Or that he set a Miami single-game record for highest field goal percentage (91.7) when he hit 11-of-12 shots against Toledo in the MAC semifinals.

Or that he is averaging 20.0 points over his last 15 games.

Or that he has played less than 30 minutes in a game only once in his last 23 games.

The wonder is that Pollitz will start at forward in the RedHawks' first NCAA Tournament game in eight years when they take on the Oregon Ducks Friday in the first round of the Midwest Regional in Spokane, Wash. No, on second thought, the wonder is that Pollitz isn't flat on his back.

The graduate of Ottawa-Glandorf High School, who often shares court time with his twin brother, sophomore Eric Pollitz, can deal with pain, from a knee that might never be the same despite off-season surgery. The ice pack that surrounds his knee after every game, that's OK.

But there was a time early this season that Pollitz wondered, a state of mind not quite reaching the "doubt" stage but getting close. In Miami's opener against Wright State he went 1-for-7 from the field, scored only two points, had three turnovers. Then he went 3-for-11 at

Kentucky, had four of his shots blocked, committed five turnovers.

"I was trying to find my game early in the season," Pollitz said. "I tried never to lose confidence and faith. But you see yourself, you remember the way you played last year, and you wonder, 'Gosh, how do I get back to that'?

"It's tough," he added, "but you can never lose confidence as a player. If you do, you're not the same type of player you were."

Ask Pollitz about his tournament MVP award and you're lucky to get a shoulder shrug in response. He doesn't care for such things, he said. Everybody says that, but he means it. He isn't interested in awards, he isn't interested in showmanship on the court. He's interested in scoring baskets, but only when baskets are ripe for the picking.

"You see me out on the court. I'm

never forcing the ball," he said. "I'm real patient."

And despite his dominating performance last week, he shies away from taking any credit for Miami earning its first NCAA Tournament appearance since Wally Szczerbiak led the RedHawks to the Sweet 16 in 1999.

"That's all God's work there," Pollitz said. "He's the one who put me in that position in the first place."

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.