When you’re 6-8 and 280 pounds and come from a town of barely 2,000 people, it’s impossble to keep a low profile.

So why try?

Tyler Marz fills out his Springfield basketball uniform like no other on the Tigers’ roster. His legs are twice as thick as his teammates’. He tops off his massive frame with a mop of long, blond curls.

In all, an imposing figure. And, as it turned out, an imposing figure to play against.

Marz wasn’t the leading scorer — or second or third  — in the Tigers’ Class 1A championship game victory over Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, but he may have been their most pivotal player.

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa was doing whatever it wanted to on the offensive boards when Marz entered the game in the first half. The difference was immediately obvious. No longer were the Jaguars able to attack with impunity. Marz’s physical presence and agility turned the game in Springfield’s favor.

“Coach told me he wanted my body in there,” Marz said. “We needed to get more physical.”

It was a common refrain during the postseason for the Tigers. A Division I football recruit who signed to play offensive line at Wisconsin, Marz missed Springfield’s first 18 games because of a knee injury. There were questions about whether he would be able to come back and play, or even if he would want to, considering his commitment to college football.

“We heard that one of his coaches at Wisconsin had told him that maybe he should leave the basketball in the corner, but we always left the decision up to him,” Springfield coach Lance Larson said. “We were going to go on with or without him. But we sure wanted him back if that was his decision.”

Marz came back, a little weaker but still able to contribute. And he was the difference in Springfield’s championship run.

“We would not be here without Tyler Marz,” Larson said.

For his part, Marz never thought twice about not playing basketball. He knew that he wanted to come back as soon as his knee would let him.

“I was hoping we could win two state championships,” said Marz, who scored seven points to go along with 12 rebounds in the championship game. “It didn’t happen in football, but we got this one. I was just glad I could come back and do what I could, which is mostly rebounding. What could be better than this?”