Pitt forward has that ‘it’ factor

You don’t see “it” on ESPN. It doesn’t show up in the box score. And to the casual fan, it is… You don’t see “it” on ESPN. It doesn’t show up in the box score. And to the casual fan, it is rarely noticed.

But whatever it is, Pitt senior basketball player and former walk-on Maurice Polen has it.

Just ask his coach.

“He’s just a special kid,” Jamie Dixon eagerly noted of Polen. “Just being around Maurice is a pleasure. He’s a tremendous person and a friend to the team and everyone on campus, it seems.”

Polen isn’t Pitt’s most talented athlete – he’s only played 17 minutes in his Pitt career. However, even though he doesn’t score a lot of points, grab a ton of rebounds or single-handedly win Pitt basketball games, many still admire him.

As of this semester “it” isn’t all Polen has, he also has a scholarship.

Polen spent his first two years at Pitt as a walk-on player, meaning he wasn’t recruited and didn’t receive any tuition compensation for his participation on the basketball team.

At a prominent athletic school like Pitt, non-scholarship athletes are rarely seen or heard from. During games, they sit at the end of the bench and cheer for their peers with no motive other than a genuine support of the team.

Occasionally, they get playing time but seldom receive any credit for the team’s success. If this is how a walk-on is defined, Polen fits the description.

But he’s more than that.

A beaming Dixon explained what kind of honor and privilege it was to finally award Polen a scholarship.

“I’ve been coaching for about 20 years, and probably my most gratifying moment individually was giving a scholarship to Maurice this semester. He’s worked so hard, and he gives so much,” Dixon said. “It was something that he deserved and appreciated, and it was probably one of the most memorable things for me and my staff.”

But Polen’s path to Pitt was almost never blazed.

“I wasn’t thinking about coming to Pitt at all,” Polen said. “My senior season at [West Philadelphia High School], Gerald Jordan [a former Pitt center] came in to coach, and he was always hyping up the Big East and how tough of a conference it was.

“He put the bug in my ear that I should drop an application at Pitt, so I did. I never even came on a visit; I just put in an application. Then I got accepted.”

Polen tried to walk on his freshman year, but Pitt’s roster was full. A year later he received a call back, and he’s been a part of the team ever since.

In the months leading up to what was supposed be his first semester at Pitt, Polen had some financial complications.

“Before I came to college, there was a huge money burden,” Polen said. “There was a huge gap of money that needed to be paid, and I just didn’t have it.”

It was at this point that something as benevolent as Polen’s character occurred.

“I had a graduation party at my dad’s church [Polen’s father, Warren, is a Pastor at Way of The Cross Family Worship Center in Philadelphia],” Polen explained. “This one older lady gave me a card and said, ‘This is something you might need for school.'”

What was enclosed was literally what Polen had to have.

“It was out of the blue,” Polen said. “When I got home and opened it, it was a check for $5,000.”

He immediately assumed it was a mistake, but when he found out otherwise he couldn’t help being moved to the brink of tears.

“I couldn’t do anything but almost cry,” Polen said. “It was very emotional because here I am ready to go to school, but there was money that hadn’t been paid and [the money she gave me] filled the gap.”

It was also at church that Polen honed one of his many other talents: singing. An energetic Polen recalls the first time he took center stage.

“‘Grease’ was my thing when I was little, I wanted to be John Travolta,” Polen said. “I’d slide under the bed and swing my jacket in the air. My first experience singing for the choir, everyone was rocking back and forth singing, and I took off my sweater in front of the church and started swinging it and pulling out Travolta moves.

“After church, I asked my mom how I did, and she was laughing and said, ‘You’re not supposed to do that at church.'”

Polen started as a walk-on, and now he’s a scholarship player. Seems like he’s done a lot he wasn’t supposed to do.

Sunday marks the end of the regular season for the Pitt basketball team, and it will also signify the end of Polen’s Pitt career.

Polen, a senior academically, will be honored as a graduating player. He’ll be remembered for one thing: He may not have the talent of his teammates, but whatever “it” is that he has, he sure has a lot of it.