Keeping their faith in hoops

There is one person who is supposed to have no trouble differentiating twins.

But Tim Pollitz joked about who occasionally has the toughest time separating him from fraternal twin brother and Miami University (Ohio) basketball teammate Eric.

"If you hung out with us enough it's pretty easy to tell," Tim Pollitz said. "But my mom (Linda Rae) has a tough time from behind sometimes."

What may have been more important was having someone nearby to separate the Pollitz brothers when their basketball battles escalated in their Ottawa, Ohio driveway.

Former Elk Grove High School star Ken Pollitz, who played at Missouri and Valparaiso, can certainly look his 6-foot-5 sons right in the eyes.

Pastor Ken Pollitz of the New Creation Lutheran Church also had no problem keeping the faith that things wouldn't escalate beyond levels too great to control.

"My dad would definitely be out there ready to break us up," said Eric, whose claim as the one with the bigger temper wasn't disputed by Tim.

"It was all in love," Ken Pollitz said with a laugh. "There were some intense moments in the driveway.

"I don't know if I'm completely responsible for the competitive edge they have. A lot of that was brewing in them already."

Which will be on display for a reunion of family and friends still in the area when Miami visits DeKalb to play Northern Illinois in a Mid-American Conference game at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Tim Pollitz, a senior and two-time all-MAC selection who led Miami to an NCAA tournament bid last year, leads the Redhawks in scoring (16.1 points per game) and rebounding (6.9).

Eric Pollitz, a redshirt junior, has moved into the starting lineup and is averaging 4.4 points in the most significant playing time of his college career.

Not bad for a pair of players who received minimal Division I interest while leading their Ottawa-Glandorf High School team to an Ohio Division II title (second-largest class). Miami was a late entry into the recruiting mix with Bowling Green.

"I knew they'd be challenged to the max as a couple of 6-4½ kids," Ken Pollitz said. "But they made the argument, if the old man played Division I, we know we're better than he ever was."

The 'old man' could play

Ken Pollitz was better than anyone else at putting the ball in the hoop in the Mid-Suburban League in the 1973-74 season. His 24.1 average as a senior was 3 points a game better than a pretty fair player at Hersey named Dave Corzine, who went on to star at DePaul and have a lengthy NBA career.

And the two-time Daily Herald All-Area pick's 46 points against Prospect has stood the 33-plus years test of time as the best single scoring game in Elk Grove history.

So it's almost a flashback for current Elk Grove softball coach Ken Grams when he sees Tim Pollitz play today.

Grams was the varsity basketball assistant coach during Ken Pollitz's three-year varsity career. He was also Elk Grove's head coach when future major-league pitcher Dave Otto earned all-state honors in 1982.

"He was certainly one of the couple best," Grams said of Pollitz's status in Elk Grove history. "He was as complete a player as we may have had, given his strength and size and ability to face up to the basket and play in the post.

"He had enormous hands and strength. There wasn't anybody who was going to be pushing him around. And he was a terrific perimeter shooter."

Grams recalled college coaches were regular visitors to Elk Grove practices at a time when recruiting restrictions were much different. The group included the irascible Norm Stewart of Missouri.

It put Ken Pollitz on a path that would significantly influence sons Eric and Tim.

Following dad's footsteps

Ken Pollitz played in only 3 games in two years at Missouri under one of college basketball's legendary coaching figures.

"Norm Stewart -- he tells stories about that," Eric said with a laugh.

When Ken Pollitz didn't see much more playing time when he saw two players a year older at his position. So he transferred to a burgeoning Division I program in Valparaiso and averaged 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in two seasons.

"I don't regret for a minute the two years at Missouri," Pollitz said. "I learned so much about the game of basketball.

"I don't regret it and it really put me in a position to go to Valparaiso, where I made a lot of life changes with my faith."

Pollitz was originally a business and accounting major. His roommate in his first year at Valparaiso is now a pastor near Muncie, Ind.

"I turned my life over to Christ," Pollitz said. "But I wasn't on the fast track to be in the clergy. It was something I resisted quite vehemently."

Eventually he couldn't resist and went into the seminary in Columbus, Ohio. His first clergy assignment was for eight years at a church near Toledo.

But in no way did it diminish the passion for basketball he passed on to his sons.

"He pushed us pretty hard to keep working at the game," Eric said. "At times he probably thought he pushed us too much, but in the end it paid off.

"He had high expectations for us, especially back in high school. It was definitely great having him around."

And it still is today.

Keeping the faith on and off the court

The transition from high school to college is rarely easy -- and it wasn't for Eric and Tim Pollitz.

Eric suffered a posterior dislocation of his shoulder and endured a long comeback that resulted in him sitting out the season.

And even though Tim was playing, adjusting to a reserve role was a challenge.

But someone who could fully understand those frustrations was never far away.

"He was probably the No. 1 person I went to during those tough times," Tim said. "I looked up to my father. He's been through a lot of the same stuff and he's also a very wise man.

"Freshman year I was on the cell phone with him all the time. He threw a lot of bible verses on me and was one of the more influential people during that time."

But the deep-rooted family faith helped the Pollitz brothers get through on their own what Eric called "fighting storms."

They include Tim suffering a partially torn meniscus midway through his sophomore year. He had surgery but now it's bone-on-bone with pain that doesn't allow him to practice on successive days.

"It put me in perspective and humbled me again," Eric said. "I used to complain about it all the time, but you've got to grow up and be mature about it and say it's all for a reason."

Dad would definitely agree.

"I'm a firm believer not to waste your pain," Ken said. "Tim's knee and Eric's redshirting and struggle to break into the lineup and get some good playing time … those are times you've got to put your faith in action and trust God through all that."

It led them to what Tim called his greatest moment in basketball and an NCAA berth a year ago. It keeps them confident the 8-10 Redhawks can turn it around despite losing six of eight since an overtime win at Illinois. Miami took a step in the right direction with a 65-52 win Saturday over Eastern Michigan in which Tim Pollitz had a game-high 22 points.

And it will help them get through next year's odd separation when Eric returns for his final year of eligibility. Tim would love to take a shot at playing overseas but knows that's contingent on how much more punishment his knee can take.

Eric has considered continuing to follow his dad's footsteps into the church. Tim might get into high school coaching or a job with a sports and religion combination.

"It's got to be a job where I can affect people's lives," Tim said. "That's a credit to my mom and dad.

"It's got to be something that has a positive effect on somebody's life. In reality that's what's going to make me happy."

In the same way Ken Pollitz found happiness after Elk Grove High School.