There are scorers and then there are SCORERS: LaTaunya Pollard was most certainly 1 of the latter. At East Chicago Roosevelt she was named Indiana Miss Basketball after becoming 1 of the highest-scoring girls basketball players in Indiana history. At Long Beach State she led her team in scoring for 4 straight years and finished her college career with 3001 career PTS. As a pro basketball player in Italy she set a league record by scoring 39.5 PPG in 1985. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with LaTaunya about scoring 99 PTS in 1 game and becoming a Hall of Famer. Today marks the 40th anniversary of her playing in the 1983 FIBA World Championship for Women gold medal game on August 6, 1983, so we take this time to remember her remarkable career.
You were born/raised in Indiana where you went 91-2 at Roosevelt High School: what made you choose Long Beach State? My decision was between Long Beach and UNLV. There were some really good players out West who I wanted to compete against (like Cheryl Miller).
You were a member of the 1980 US Olympic team but did not get to participate after the US decided to boycott the Olympics: what was your reaction when you learned the bad news? What can you do? When politics get involved in sports then anything can happen. I was young at the time so I did not wonder if it was my last chance.
In the 1983 NCAA tourney you made it to the Elite 8 before losing to eventual champion USC: what was it like to face Cheryl Miller in her prime? We actually lost to Cheryl every year! She was a very tough player but also had great players around her like Cynthia Cooper. Cheryl was the focus point of a solid team.
You finished your college career with 3001 PTS: what is the secret to being a great scorer? The Good Lord! God blessed me with a talent that was pretty much unmatched for a long time. I played basketball from a young age, and competing against boys from my neighborhood helped me become the player I was. I worked on my craft: I was a great defender/rebounder but shooting is what set me apart. It was a gift from God.
You were a 3-time All-American and in 1983 you won the Wade Trophy as national POY: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? I can say it was well-deserved: I did a lot of things on the court and people recognized my talent. Awards were not big for me: I would have traded all of them to take my team to the Final 4. Championships are what I really wanted but unfortunately it did not happen.
In the 1983 FIBA World Championship for Women gold medal game you scored 9 PTS in a 2-PT loss to the USSR: what was it like to face 7-footer Uljana Semjonova (who scored 23 PTS)? She was huge! It was a great experience to face Russia. Every time that I stepped onto the court I scored in double-digits so if I only scored 9 PTS then I must not have played that well. The Russian team played year-round while Team USA only had a short period of time to practice together.
After graduating you played in Italy and set a women’s pro basketball scoring record by scoring 99 PTS for Lanerossi Schio in a win over Latte Berna Gragnano on March 29, 1987: how on earth did you do that?! It actually should have been more than that because I missed a lot of baskets! We were the last-place team in the league and were not very good but our opponent that night was the 2nd-worst team. I honestly did not realize I had scored that many points at the time: I was never a selfish player but at the end of the game they told me I had 99 PTS. Had I known that I would have tried to score another point!
In 2001 you were inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is 1 of my highest accomplishments. It takes a lot to be recognized and is probably 2nd only to making the Olympic team. I am looking at the trophy right now.
Since retiring from basketball you founded a company called “Fundamentals of Basketball” that teaches fundamental skills to kids of all ages: what makes your company different from others, and how is it going so far? God restored my life after I went through some challenges outside of basketball. There was some darkness in my life and in 2006 I made a promise to spend the rest of my life serving God. I do that by helping kids in my community. I speak the gospel to these kids: it is not just basketball but also the ministry. When you come to my camp you will hear about Jesus Christ and I think a lot of them have a new reason to believe in salvation: that is what sets my camp apart.
When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I heard LeBron James talk about his legacy once and he said, “I hope I did enough” so I would say the same thing.