Pepperdine’s Polee: A Legend Returns From the Missing

Dwayne Polee turned up missing a couple of years ago.

It was all very strange and mysterious.

Here was this basketball player from L.A.’s inner city who was nationally respected and locally worshipped.

He went away to college and was never seen again.

Until now. Polee has resurfaced in Malibu, of all places. At Pepperdine University, of all schools.

He is the star of an interesting little basketball team that will play Duke Friday night in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs.

If you don’t remember who Dwayne Polee was, you can ask Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick. He remembers.

Polee was the L.A. City Section player of the year at Manual Arts in ‘81, but that doesn’t even begin to tell you how big he was.

“Dwayne Polee has been a legend in Los Angeles since the age of 13, like nobody I’ve ever seen,” Harrick said. “In my 25 years coaching in this city, I don’t know of another guy that had the hoopla and reputation Dwayne had in high school. I heard all about him in 1972, in fact, when I was coaching Morningside High.”

Polee would have been 9 years old then.

“Every basketball junkie in the United States knew about Dwayne Polee.”

At least half a dozen high school coaches actively recruited Dwayne when he was in junior high school.

He chose Verbum Dei, then the Mecca of prep basketball, started there as a freshman, then transfered to Manual Arts. His game was sped, movement, scoring ability, defense.

The legend grew. And there is no legend like an inner-city basketball legend.

When Polee was a senior, he was far too famous for Harrick to even think about recruiting for Pepperdine. Dwayne signed up to go to USC, then decided to go to Nevada Las Vegas. As a freshman, he was the seventh man. After that season, he quit.

And turned up missing.

Harrick didn’t find him. A former Pepperdine player, Dane Suttle, found Polee that summer, playing in a playground league in L.A.

Suttle ran to the phone and called Harrick. “Coach,” he said, “Polee’s playing ball down here and nobody’s got him.”

Harrick got him.

The 6-5, 190-pound Polee redshirted a season at Pepperdine, played forward last season, moved to guard this season and was named MVP in the West Coast Athletic Conference.

“I think the problem at Las Vegas was homesickness,” Harrick said. “He was a sheltered young guy out of 60th and Slauson, he was really a homebody, and he was trying to meet everyone’s expectations.

“We don’t know what that kind of pressure and stress can do. We know what it can do to mature businessmen, but I wonder how Dwayne felt at 18, 19, with what the city of Los Angeles was expecting out of him.

“I think when he left Las Vagas, he was sitting on the fence post. I think there was a time when he was about to throw it all in. Now, when next season is over, he will be about five classes short of graduation, and he will be a high-round (NBA) draft choice.”

Harrick doesn’t take credit for the rescue.

But Harrick did provide Polee a pace to play, got him academic guidance and tutoring, got him contact lenses for an astigmatism in one eye, gave him a new position, guard, and reminded Polee how good he is. Constantly.

In return, Polee has done well in his classes, played the best defense on the West Coast this side of Michael Cooper, and served as Pepperdine’s Mr. Clutch on offense.

“He’s as fine a clutch player as I’ve ever seen,” Harrick said simply. “I’m not sure it’s a thing you can coach. He rises to the occasion. When you recruit, you don’t know the head and heart and guts inside a player.”

Example: In a comeback win against St. Mary’s, Polee scored 12 of Pepperdine’s last 14 points.

It’s easy for Polee to explain.

“I like the game so much, I’m never nervous,” he says. “I’m nervous before the game, but once it starts, it’s like I’m at home.”

Polee doesn’t talk much about his Las Vegas experience, or the time in between, before he and Pepperdine found each other.

“I just wasn’t comfortable at Las Vegas,” he said. “I wanted another life style of college basketball. I really don’t have any regrets, not now. I couldn’t have picked a better school than Pepperdine. It’s exactly what I needed.”

Realistically, the Waves are too young and too small to go far in the NCAA playoffs. They have no seniors and their center is a 6-7 freshman. REalistically, they were supposed to bomb in conference play, too, but they went 11-1, and won 17 of their last 19 games.

Reality, especially in basketball, can be a hazy concept, as Polee knows. All he can think about right now is that his team is flying to Houston this afternoon to play in the NCAA playoffs.

If the Waves win a game or two, people around the country will surely start hearing about this kid named Polee. Harrick figures it couldn’t happen to a nicer legend.

“I’m happy he’s kind of answered everybody’s expectations,” Harrick said.