Scot Pollard
Maybe Bill Self will stick it out here in Lawrence after all…
I still have my doubts. However it is possible that the KU basketball coach’s philandering days are behind him. And that coaching at the level of an NBA practice squad is starting to grow on him. Hey and living in a $2 million plus mansion wearing, a really snug rug and getting Botox treatments is enough for a dude who came humble origins. Living in a fishbowl with only a small handful of decent restaurants might suffice.
Which may explain why Self is teaming with former KU star Scot Pollard, reportedly to start a new biz at 18th and Mass just south of downtown Lawrence.
Rumor is Polard and Self are planning to open a restaurant there.
And while at first blush a sports bar might make sense, all that glitters in that category ain’t gold. Just ask former KU football star David Lawrence about his year-old, ghost town eatery Legends.
What makes more sense would be to open a second Salty Iguana.
Self reportedly has an interest in the Salty Iguana in the West Lawrence burbs where it hosts KU’s weekly football and basketball coaches shows.
Why not snug one in closer to downtown where more college kids hang?
As for Pollard, he lives here and apparently has some NBA dough left over.
“His fashion style ranged from mohawks to ponytails to black fingernail polish. Sometimes he said outrageous things. Often he angered people. But he was always interesting,” writes Adam Knapp of Wichita’s KWCH 12 news.
“I have had a home in Lawrence since 1998,” Pollard tells Knapp.” I graduated in 1997 after living in the Jayhawk towers all four years of school. After my rookie year, I bought a house that would be my offseason home every year since. The why I moved back? When making a decision of where to have an offseason home from the NBA, I chose a place that was familiar, fairly cheap in terms of property taxes, gas, groceries, etc, as well as one of my favorite places on earth! Being from Utah, San Diego, even a short stint in Washington state, given those options I felt that Lawrence made the most sense. After being here off and on for 21 years, it’s definitely home.”
Seems Pollard mostly just hangs out here with friends and family, catches two or three KU basketball games a year, sorts through his mail and fantasizes about becoming a movie star.
Pollard’s take on the biggest misconception of him may explain Self’s decision to partner up with him:
“I’ve discovered, since retirement
, that people ACTUALLY think I’m some sort of wild person. In the business world there have been some opportunities lost as a result of that misconception. First and foremost, I am a family man. Nothing matters more to me than my family. My ‘on camera’ persona, in the NBA, helped me, in my opinion, play in the league longer than if I had been simply a ‘banger with a good work ethic.’ Unfortunately, again I discovered this upon retiring and continue to battle the perception that I am a fame whore, unreliable, crazy party guy. It’s ok, because my family knows who I am, and I know who I am. But, yeah, people” think what they’re going to think no matter what .”
Just one problem: the restaurant biz can be a cruel mistress and that far from the main part of downtown makes for limited traffic. Which (along with bad food) did a number on the former Bambino’s Italian Cafe.
Stay tuned.
I already read all of this here:
http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/town_talk/2015/apr/17/bill-self-and-scot-pollard-team-up-to-bu/
Nice try, agree do….
But you didn’t read all of it there, far from it.
Nothing about what the rest might be. Nothing about Bambinos. Nothing about Pollard being ultra conservative, just putting on a show to extend his NBA career. And nothing about Legends.
You’re never going to get the Careful Reader award unless you actually learn to read better
So Legends isn’t doing well? Can’t say I’m surprised. If Tanner’s failed in that location, I don’t know why David Lawrence thought he could make it there.
Who the hell is Scot Pollard?
This must be some Lawrence thing…
You are correct, sir
The old athletes-getting-in-the-restaurant-biz scheme. This only fails almost every time. The road to bankrupt athletes is littered with failed bars and restaurants.
Another Salty Iguana? God, I hope not. That area is booming. East Lawrence is hipster (think disposable income hipster) gold. Salty Iguana is probably the worst “Mexican” joint in the state (and we had el mescal!), if not restaurant in Lawrence. I mean it is so, so bad. Like, if the devil himself made you a taco. Cue the Beck music.