Scot Pollard To Star In Movie About NBA Underbelly

Scot Pollard, a veteran of eleven NBA seasons, will be starring in an upcoming movie, “The Association”. Pollard will star in the film in the leading role about an aging NBA star, who through the course of living large, is looking at a retirement with little of his fortune intact.

Pollard, who played for the Kansas Jayhawks in the mid 1990’s, was drafted in the first round in 1997 by the Detroit Pistons. He also spent time with the Kings, Pacers, Cavs, and Celtics. Pollard was known for his blue-collar work on the court, as well as his interesting, ever-changing physical appearance, especially his hair-dos and facial hair.

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The film “The Association”, based on an idea cultivated by Pollard himself, will deal with the life of an NBA player, away from the bright lights of the basketball court.

In an interview with the director of “The Associate”, Kevin Willmott, and his co-producer and co-writer, Scott Richardson, they discussed Pollard’s original vision. Richardson saw plenty to like about Pollard’s screenplay, though the budget wasn’t available to make a movie on the scale of a Hollywood blockbuster. He told Pollard:

"The concept you have is a good concept. You can’t make the movie they, Hollywood, want to make…A different movie, telling the same kind of story, with the same themes, could be made…digitally."

While Willmott and Richardson penned the screenplay for this film, but they received plenty of input from Pollard, based on his life experiences in the NBA. It tells the story of a basketball star named Joseph “The Profit” Smith, and about how Smith’s life off the court has put him in a poor position to enjoy a good life after his playing days are over.

Willmott describes the basic plot line.

"He [Smith] is fast nearing retirment, and he has made so many bad choices in his life, that he desperately kind of needs the retirement money…He has just been diagnosed with a heart problem, and so he has to get this last year to get full retirement [benefits]…"

Willmott explains the societal problems that emerge from the lifestyles of so many professional athletes that are explored in the film.

"So many athletes have ended up in this kind of situation between the baby mamas, and the bad investments, and the gifts to friends, entourages…They [athletes] appear to have a lot of money, but they have families, friends, goals of their own. This money has to last them the rest of their lives. Their families, their friends, people they went to school with, they see these guys as always having…millions of dollars, and that is how the players see themselves. This is what leads to so many bad choices. They receive pressure from so many different sources…It is almost inevitable they are going have financial problems."

An underlying problem with these issues is that the athletics are not properly prepared or educated to handle the amounts of money they are given for their skills at such an early age. Most players become professionals in their late teens or early twenties. No one is can be prepared at that age to handle millions of dollars.

“The Association” takes a look  at how this lifestyle can manifest itself negatively for a player whose career is quickly winding down. Pollard’s character, Joseph Smith, ends up mentoring a young star about how to handle the life and the money that comes with being in the NBA.

Willmott and Richardson want audiences:

"…to see the realities of being a professional athlete. The good and the bad. We all kind of know the good, but then there are a lot of traps that are pretty easy to fall into…We want to put a human face on all of that. We hope that people will come away from the film understanding the difficulties of being a professional athlete. We see them from afar, making all this money, living a great life. Why would they end up broke…It’s a lot easier to end up there than we think it is."

“The Association” is due to be released in the fall on 2015.

Pollard, who is also listed as an executive producer on “The Association”, now works for Fox Sports Indiana as a commentator for the Pacers.

Kevin Willmott and Scott Richardson have collaborated on other films, including “Jayhawkers”, a movie about Wilt Chamberlain‘s time with the Kansas Jayhawks. Pollard appeared in “Jayhawkers” as well, portraying former Kansas Jayhawk, B.H. Born.

Enjoys these looks that made Scot Pollard one of the most interesting players in his era.

Next: Director Kevin Willmott Discusses The Film 'Jayhawkers'