BY PAUL DAUGHERTY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

It is time for Danny Fortson to run the last mile. He'll probably be called for a charge.

A problem with being 6-foot-7 is, you have to duck in the hotel shower. If you're 6-7 and weigh 260 pounds, another problem is, basketball referees eyeball you and say, ''linebacker.''

Fortson stands in the lane waving those Schwarzenegger arms and flashing that black mouthpiece, looking like Darth Vader and, good lord, what are you supposed to think?

If you're a ref, maybe you look at him and blow your whistle. Just because.

''I think I get picked on a lot. It's because I'm so big, I guess,'' Fortson said. ''I move a lot of people. That's just the way it is.''

The University of Cincinnati starts its run for greatness, or at least very-goodness, Thursday against Butler. The Bearcats should brush off the Bulldogs like flies from a picnic. As Fortson said Sunday night, ''If we do what's right, we should have no problem beating them.''

Then things get serious, with a second round game against Iowa State or Illinois State, then a likely match with UCLA in the region semifinals. To achieve anything larger than shooing Butler, UC needs Fortson in the game.

This means no standing eight-counts. Even by accident.

No helicopter elbows. No retaliatory forearm shivers.

If someone knocks you down, steps on your head and hands you your bicuspids - as Fortson says happened in the Conference USA tournament game against Saint Louis - you bounce up, grin that black mouthpiece grin and say, ''Thank you, sir. May I have another?''

Fortson is that important to the Bearcats. Still. It is March, and they lack consistent answers beyond their all-American forward. Darnell Burton can be deadly, but not all the time. Ruben Patterson drives the lane like he's driving a Maserati. Sometimes. Nobody else is dependable or crucial enough to mention.

It is Fortson's team. But only when he's on the court.

So make nice, Danny. We know you and coach Bob Huggins believe the team's image as weightlifting clean-and-jerks has hurt you with the refs. We know the Bearcats feel they're penalized for their aggressiveness, to say nothing of their buffed physiques.

But hold on. Three more weeks, maximum, and you'll be bound for the NBA, where Anthony Mason could break noses every night of the week and never foul out.

Fortson hasn't officially declared his pro intentions. But they're real enough.

''Is there a chance you'll be back here next year?'' you wonder.

''Yeah,'' he says. ''There's definitely a chance.''

''How big?''

Fortson smiles. ''I don't know,'' he says. What Fortson is thinking is, ''You'd have a better chance finding the Queen Mary in your bathtub.''

He won't be back. Why should he be? For another year of double teams and whistles? Fortson is already a card-carrying member of the Frequent Fouler Club.

For another chance at cutting down nets? UC won't be as good next year as it is now. For another winter of Huggins blast? Uh-huh. Better to go pro, where at least he'll be compensated for his troubles.

''They let you play out there in the NBA,'' Fortson said. ''Nobody's calling no fouls. That's the way basketball supposed to be played. I see Anthony Mason throw his weight around. Charles Oakley. That's the way I want to play.''

Fortson's gone. But for now, there is work to be done. Fortson says, ''I'm going to play like a man possessed. I've never been more motivated in my life.''

Maybe it's because Fortson hates to lose. ''When you lose to Eggs-avier, when you know you're not supposed to lose to Eggs-avier, that's frustrating,'' he said. (Speaking of Xavier: Nice draw, Muskies. Go 22-4 in a good league, get a potential second-round game with UCLA, one of the hottest teams in the country. Who schedules the Muskies' March? UC fans?)

Maybe Fortson wants some vindication for staying in Clifton this year. ''This year was supposed to be my year. Our year,'' he said. ''It still can be.''

Or maybe he knows a big tournament can do for his NBA stock what it did for Dontae Jones last year and Ed O'Bannon the year before.

Regardless, Fortson won't lack for motivation. If anything, he'll have to hold himself back. Refs are more generous in March. One look at Fortson has been known to change their minds.