Scot Pollard is not ready to announce his retirement from the National Basketball Association.
“Not officially, no way,” said the 33-year-old former Kansas University power forward, who for the first time in 12 years is not under contract with an NBA team.
“I am keeping my options open. I will not close any doors. That’s why I’m working out every day, staying in shape. If the right situation does come, great. If not, I’ll be a soccer dad in Indianapolis working on my next career (broadcasting),” added Pollard, who along with wife, Mindy, is raising three young children in Indiana.
The 6-foot-11, 270-pounder played in 22 games last season while battling injuries with the Boston Celtics. The 2008 NBA champions did not offer Pollard a contract for this season, despite the fact that after a pair of reconstructive ankle surgeries he’s physically fit and raring to go.
Pollard has not received a guaranteed contract offer from another organization. That could change in coming days or weeks.
“That’s why I’m working out. Somebody gets hurt, they may call,” Pollard said. “It happened to me last year. I got hurt, and P.J. Brown got called up in February. He wasn’t doing anything. He wasn’t officially retired. I needed surgery, and they (Celtics) saw he was available.
“Camp has started. They realize a guy can’t play. My agent talks to everybody. They may say, ‘Well he (Pollard) is still available.”‘
Pollard – the No. 19 overall pick of the Detroit Pistons in the 1997 NBA Draft – is not a desperate man. He’s a multi-millionaire after playing 10-plus years in the league.
“The good thing is there’s no pressure to find anything right now. It has to be the right offer,” Pollard said. “I’m enjoying the free time I have, working out, enjoying my family, taking the kids swimming. My oldest (Lolli) is in fourth grade. My middle (Tallula) is in kindergarten. The little guy (1-year-old Ozzy) changes all the time. I haven’t had the chance to be around my kids this time of year before, so that part of it has been great.”
Pollard still has a passion to play. He’s not completely discounted heading overseas.
“It’d be the same thing. It’d have to be a solid offer for me to move,” said Pollard, who has had his family based in Indy since playing for the Pacers from 2003 to ’06. He also has a house in Lawrence where he and the family spend about a month a year.
“My wife would love that, to go to Europe. If the offer felt good, definitely we’d be up to moving the family. It’d be a good experience for the kids, something they’d appreciate as they got older,” Pollard added.
He hopes to put on hold a second career in broadcasting. Pollard’s “Planet Pollard” segments on Boston Comcast SportsNet were a huge hit in Beantown last year.
“I’m hoping to get in front of the camera somehow, whether as a studio analyst or broadcasting,” he said of his days after basketball. “I think I have the talent for it. I don’t know if I have a passion for it. I think that can develop.”
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Late Night details: The 24th-annual Late Night in the Phog, sponsored by 6News and People’s Bank, will run from 6:30 p.m. until about 9:30 a week from today at Allen Fieldhouse. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. The event will feature music by the KU pep band, scrimmages by the KU men’s and women’s teams and unveiling of a 2008 NCAA title banner.
Metro Sports of Kansas City will air Late Night as part of its Midnight Madness show. KU’s event will also be featured on ESPNU’s coverage of Midnight Madness. The four-hour coverage begins at 8 p.m. and will include KU, Davidson, Gonzaga, Georgetown and Indiana.
Fans are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items, which Kansas Athletics will donate to local food pantries.
