Vince Legarza is a redshirt senior, a co-captain and a guy who isn’t playing a whole lot for Miami University’s men’s basketball team.

Legarza will tell you this: He doesn’t judge his contributions with statistics.

“I’m showing up every day and doing everything I can to help the team get better,” said Legarza, a 6-foot-9, 265-pound center. “I need to be ready so that when my name does get called, I’m able to take advantage of it.”

He’s only playing seven minutes per game for the RedHawks (3-2), who will take a two-game winning streak to Fort Wayne, Ind., tonight to face IPFW at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Legarza has 4 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Post players aren’t the focus of first-year coach John Cooper’s system. It’s fueled by quickness and pressure defense.

That doesn’t mean guys like Legarza and 6-11 redshirt junior Drew McGhee have no purpose.

“The style and your size, that’s what you make of it,” Legarza said. “There’s a lot of opportunities for Drew and I, especially on offense. There’s a big emphasis on getting the ball down the court and getting the big guy the ball right next to the rim. So as a big guy, there’s nothing more I can ask than that.

“Defensively, that’s where it might be a little bit harder for the bigger guys, but we still have different things we do with some zone action where Drew and I are kind of at an advantage at our size.”

Cooper said the San Francisco native’s role could evolve over the course of the season.

“I always tell guys, ‘Don’t get down. Stay with it. Stay the course,’ ” Cooper said. “Attitude is not an issue with Vince. We’re going to continue to try to find ways to let Vince help us. I sit and listen to him talk on the bench. He’s like a coach literally as he’s cheering his teammates on.”

Despite his limited playing time, Legarza said Cooper and his new ways have pumped life into the program.

“I’m loving it,” Legarza said. “Everything’s kind of fresh, which for a fifth-year guy is kind of nice. The new system is different than what I’m used to, but it’s still basketball.”

He is the only Californian on the roster. How did he end up in Oxford?

“They tricked me. I thought I was in Florida or something,” Legarza said with a laugh. “Actually, just out of high school, I wanted to either go to a big city or a college town. My dad called around and asked some of his buddies where some of the good college towns with good basketball were. Miami came up a couple times.

“I ended up visiting a couple schools in Chicago and Boston, and I visited some college towns. I fell in love with Oxford right when I stepped on campus. I couldn’t be happier.”

Scouting the Mastodons: IPFW, a member of the Summit League, is 4-4 and coming off a 54-49 loss at Navy on Wednesday.

The Mastodons’ wins have come over Dartmouth, Judson, Texas Pan-American and Rochester. They opened the season with a 61-50 defeat at Auburn.

IPFW has two double-digit scorers – 6-3 senior guard Frank Gaines (20.7) and 6-8 senior forward Mario Hines (10.0). Gaines served a one-game team suspension against Navy, but is expected to play tonight.

The Mastodons are averaging 68.1 points per contest and giving up an average of 60.1.

Allen Roberts (12.6) and Reggie Johnson (11.6) are the top scorers for Miami, which has lost redshirt junior forward Bill Edwards for the rest of the year with a knee injury.

“I like the energy that we’re starting to bring,” Cooper said. “I don’t like our execution right now. I don’t like our attention to detail. We’re working on all the things that are part of learning to win and eventually becoming a winner.”