Former Kamiakin Basketball Star Facing Life Threatening Condition

A former star for the Kamiakin boys basketball team is facing the fight of his life in a Tennessee hospital.  Though he played one season for the Braves, his senior year, Scot Pollard brought national attention to the Tri-Cities.

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When Pollard arrived in 1992 as a transfer form Torrey Pines in San Diego, CA he was a 6 foot 11 inch athlete already commanding attention from major Division 1 schools.  That season Pollard and the Braves would be invited to the Beach Ball Classic in South Carolina.

The BBC is one of the most prestigious high school tourneys in the country.  That year the Braves would join schools like Artesia from California with future UCLA star Ed O'Bannon and Simon Gratz High from Philadelphia who boasted future Trailblazer Rasheed Wallace.

The Braves would go 3-1 in the WIAA State Tournament and finish in 4th place that season. Pollard would be named a third team All-American by Parade Magazine in 1993 and would commit to the University of Kansas.  Pollard was a 1st round pick by Detroit in 1997.

He may be best remembered for his time in Sacramento with Chris Webber as the Kings were a perennial playoff team.  pollard would do from there to the Pacers and wind down his career in 2008 as part of the World Champion Boston Celtics.

According to a report from CBS, Pollard was admitted to the ICU at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in need of a heart transplant.   A genetic heart condition, that also impacted Pollard's father, presented after the former Brave contracted an unspecified virus in 2021.  There is another piece that makes this even more complicated.

At 6' 11" Pollard needs a heart from a person of similar size to be able to pump blood through his massive frame.  An average size heart won't help.  Pollard will remain at the medical center until he can receive a new heart.  Our thoughts are with Pollard and his family at this difficult time.