DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — Doug Penno has been a solid yet unspectacular player for most of his Miami University basketball career.

But the only day most people will remember is the day he became a folk hero.

Penno smiles and shakes his head at the thought. He knows there are worse things in life.

"I guess I will always be that guy," said Penno, whose last-second 3-pointer beat Akron in the Mid-American Conference Tournament title game last weekend and earned the RedHawks an NCAA Tournament berth opposite Oregon on Friday in Spokane, Wash. "Hopefully I'll go on to bigger and better things, but if that's what I'm remembered for here, I will accept that gladly."

The senior guard has been in the eye of a media tornado since banking in that trey at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, and while it may be tiring, Penno figures he'll survive.

Miami coach Charlie Coles said "The Shot" was wonderful, but it didn't define Penno.

"He's our best passer and our leader," Coles said. "If you look at his shooting statistics since January, he's been on fire, and the team's been good, too. So whether he had made that shot the other night or not, he helped turn our season around."

It seems like a long time ago now, but Penno was a highly regarded running back at Alter High. In fact, his football credentials were the most impressive part of his athletic resume.

But instead of accepting one of several football scholarship offers, Penno opted to be a walk-on basketball player at Miami.

"Even if I had gotten that one big offer that I dreamed of in football, I still don't know if it would've taken precedence over being able to come here and play basketball," said Penno, who's now on scholarship. "Basketball was just always my first love and what I liked to do. My dream was to play Division I, make it to the NCAA Tournament and be on a successful team."

He played football with Nick Mangold, currently with the NFL's New York Jets, and Penno has fond memories of Alter coach Ed Domsitz.

"It is ancient history," Penno said. "But at the same time, every football season I can't help but think about my days of playing football because it was such a fun time in my life."

He doesn't get back to Alter very often these days. There's a busy schedule, of course, but it's also a choice.

"I never want to be that guy who's trying to hold onto high school," Penno said. "You never want to waste college holding onto high school, no matter how great it was."

So he continues to look forward. His focus right now is Spokane and the Oregon Ducks.

And, yes, he might be asked again about that glorious snippet of time last Saturday that will live forever in Miami fans' hearts. And again. And again.

"It's a fact of life," Penno said. "If that's my biggest problem, talking about that shot, I think I'll be OK."

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2194 or rcassano@coxohio.com.