When Mike Polis was growing up in Longview, Wash., he attended Perry’s Basketball Camp in Vernonia, Ore., run by Linfield men's basketball coach Ted Wilson (and the Perry brothers). Mike dreamed of playing for Linfield.
It didn’t happen.
After graduating from Longview’s R.A. Long High School in 1968, he played two seasons each of basketball and baseball for Lower Columbia College (LCC) in Longview and Central Washington University.
But, Mike’s dream is almost coming true in a roundabout way through his son, Mickey Polis. See photo.
Mickey is coaching Wildcats men’s basketball in Linfield’s Ted Wilson Gym as assistant coach on the staff of newly appointed men’s head coach Shanan Rosenberg.
LCC has a Linfield connection through Linfield grads Don Porter, Jack Riley and Scott Carnahan, Linfield athletic director and assistant/former head baseball coach. Carnahan came to Linfield as head baseball coach after serving in the same role at LCC. Don, Jack and Scott graduated from Linfield in 1956, 1960 and 1973 respectively.
Don -- who played basketball for head coach Ted at McMinnville High -- coached LCC men’s basketball, 1965-70, assisted by Riley. Mike played for Don and Jack in the 1968-69 and 1969-70 seasons. At the time Jack left LCC in 1972 to become Oregon State University head baseball coach, he was LCC head coach of both baseball and men's basketball.
Back to Mickey, he starred in basketball and baseball at Longview’s Mark Morris High School from 2002-2005. He went on to play basketball at LCC, 2005-2007, and Portland State University (PSU), 2007-2009. At PSU, he was a point guard on teams that won 46 games, two Big Sky Conference titles and made two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Mickey was the team’s top three-point percentage shooter during his career, hitting 47 percent of his shots.
After his graduation, Mickey remained at PSU as director of basketball operations for the men’s team. During four years in the job handling various administrative duties for the PSU team, he earned a master's in education degree.
MORE TO THE STORY:
==Second Polis brother in NWC -- While this will be Mickey's first time in the Northwest Conference, his brother, Tony Polis, is no stranger to it. Tony played men's basketball for NWC member Pacific Lutheran University and competed against the Wildcats at Ted Wilson Gym.
==PSU pipeline to Linfield -- In addition to Mickey joining the Linfield Athletics staff, former PSU trainer Duane Duey now holds the same job at Linfield.
==About Ted Wilson -- He was Linfield head men's basketball coach, 1961-1981. He died in 1996.
==Camp leaders --Ted Wilson and brothers Bob and George Perry started and operated Perry's Basketball Camp (also known as Perry's Sports Camp) in Vernonia, 1964-1980.
==Played hoops for Lefty -- Don Porter played basketball at Linfield for coach Roy “Lefty” Helser in the 1954-1955 and 1955-1956 seasons.
==Former reporter's Linfield connections -- John Polis, uncle of Mickey and brother of Mike, has connections to Linfield, too. As sports editor of the Longview Daily News, he covered LCC basketball when Don Porter was coach. He knows two of Ted's Linfield players, Terry Miller and Loren Bruner. "Terry was my closest pal growing up in Longview," John said. "We lived on the the same street, played four years on the same Little League team and remain friends to this day. I played ball with and graduated from R.A. Long with Loren."
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Mickey Polis at Greg Crawford (Linfield Class of 1972) Sports Lunch Oct. 5, 2016, in Portland.
