Sacramento’s Pollard has plenty of flash, style on and off court

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2002 | 11:15 a.m.

The Sacramento Kings' Scot Pollard is not a strait-laced Mormon.

This should come as no shock.

But the fact that the free-spirited Pollard was raised by devout Mormons -- rather than liberal hippie-types -- might come as a surprise.

Pearl and Marlyn Pollard wanted Scot to be as religious as they were. They wanted him to go on a Mormon mission, just as his four brothers did.

By the time he was a teenager, though, Pollard had other ideas.

"As soon as I got out of the house, I wanted to do my own thing," Pollard said. "I'm always experimenting.

"I told my dad before he died that I wasn't going on a mission. I said, 'Dad, it's not my thing. I'm not going to be a Mormon. As soon as I don't have to go to church any more, I'm not going to go.'

"He wasn't happy about that part, but he understood the mission thing. Both of my parents were very patient with me."

Pollard, sporting a thick goatee and funky glasses, looks more like a member of an alternative rock band than a 6-foot-11 basketball player when he's not in uniform.

The 26-9 Kings have this week off. They host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Pollard spent part of Tuesday afternoon signing autographs for fans at the Palms hotel-casino, owned by the Maloof family, which has a 53 percent stake in the Kings.

Pollard is equally friendly with die-hard Kings fans and curious onlookers, who have no idea who he is but want an autograph anyway.

Pearl, a 7-footer and a Utah basketball Hall of Fame inductee, died when Pollard was 16.

It was then that he decided to "stop messing around" in high school, start paying more attention in classes and start being serious about basketball.

"I really developed a love for the game, that's one thing I work really hard at," Pollard said.

Had he gone on a mission, Pollard figures he may not have had the career he had at Kansas, which led him to be drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1997.

Pollard played four years at Kansas, where he became known as much for his gritty style of play as the fact that he painted his fingernails various colors. He also earned a degree, something that he treasures.

Among the nail polish colors he experimented with: Jayhawk blue.

"Once a Jayhawk, always a Jayhawk," Pollard recited proudly, partly in jest. "It's a family."

He means it, too, rattling off a list of Kansas alumni that includes Danny Manning, Jacque Vaughn, Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz -- all of whom he counts as good friends.

Pollard and his wife, Mindy, have a home in Lawrence, Kansas, and he is reveling in the Jayhawks' success -- a 12-1 record and a No. 1 ranking for the first time since 1997, when Pollard was on board -- as much as in the Kings' fast start.

With All-Star forward Chris Webber sidelined for 23 games, Pollard has started 24 games this season and is averaging 6 points and 7.9 rebounds in 34 games.

He struggled as a starter but has been performing better since Webber's return.

"I was kind of disappointed with my performance@the beginning of the year," Pollard said. "I felt like I should have been scoring more, been more consistent ... I've still been shooting free throws very poorly.

"But I think I'm playing better now that Chris is back -- I don't know why. I should have started stronger in his absence, but we won a lot of games without him and I think I did a good enough job while he was gone."

Also gone is the long brown hair from last season that Pollard often wore in a ponytail. The new, short hairdo is the result of a dye job during the off-season that went terribly wrong in a Las Vegas salon he declined to name.

Pollard's interesting choices when it comes to hairstyles were the subject of much discussion among fans and media last year.

The charismatic Pollard is glad the talk is shifting to the Kings' potential to win an NBA title.

The acquisition of point guard Mike Bibby has had a stabilizing effect on the Kings, who were erratic under the direction of former point guard Jason Williams, now with the Memphis Grizzlies.

"So far, we've shown maturity that maybe we didn't show last year," Pollard said. "We've won games that came down to the wire that we would have lost last year (by) just not running the plays."

Already, the Kings have split two games against the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, a team that swept them in the playoffs last season.

"We are the answer to the Lakers," Pollard said. "But I don't mean it to sound like I'm talking (expletive).

"All I mean is,we're good enough to beat them, but we have yet to prove it. So really, me thinking it and saying it doesn't mean a damn thing. We just have to go out on the court and prove it, and we haven't done that in a playoff situation.

"Nobody on our team has won an NBA championship. Nobody's got a ring. Everyone wants one."