‘Survivor: Kaoh Rong’ spotlight: Is Scot Pollard a slam dunk to go far?

If we were to use an endless stream of basketball analogies for this “Survivor: Kaoh Rong” spotlight article, we’d start by saying that professional athletes’ odds of doing well on “Survivor” are about as high as Andre Drummond’s at the free-throw line. More often than not, it’s just not going to happen. Sure, we’ve had the rare case of a Jeff Kent or a Gary Hogeboom, who made it fairly far while keeping their alter ego under wraps. However, no professional athlete who publicly declared themselves to be famous has really knocked it out of the park in this game … and lo and behold, our spotlight contestant today in Scot Pollard is not going to be holding back in regards to his history in the NBA.

We do think that Scot is an interesting guy both in terms of what we know about him from watching basketball over the years, and also what we’re getting a chance to see about him leading into this season. He’s going to be one of the more aggressive athlete-types that we’ve seen on the show over the years, but we’re not sure being a metaphorical bull in a china shop is going to work for his game.

Age – 40

Location – Carmel, Indiana

Tribe – To Tang a.k.a. the Brawn tribe.

Occupation – Former NBA player. Scot won a championship ring playing for the Boston Celtics, but he also played for a wide array of other teams. He’s what we would call a journeyman player; he’s someone fans of the game know, but he was never a top-tier star. (It’s weird saying that, given how much talent it takes to get into the game in the first place.)

Past “Survivor” comparison – We struggled a lot with this one, but we’re going to say Joel from “Fans vs. Favorites.” Both are these big, hulking guys who do have something to offer beyond just their physical ability. With Joel, his problem was that he made a series of poor strategic decisions that cost him big in the game. We’re not sure if Scot will suffer the same fate, but we don’t get the sense personality-wise that he’s really much like Cliff Robinson or even Jeff Kent.

Things to know – He spends his free time now raising his kids and broadcasting, and one of the things that he’s really looking for out of this game is some sort of a “release” of some of its competitive energy that he built up for so many years in the NBA. That has been more of a void in his life.

Advantages – Obviously, you can look just to his size to see how useful he could be in some challenges and around camp. We also think that he has a nice smile, and there is a part of his demeanor that suggests that he could be easygoing or personable if need be. He does not seem to be much of a huge “Survivor” fan, but we’ll give him some credit for what appears to be a noble attempt on his part to fresher up on the game in the months leading up to this season. Also, we like the idea of being open about his career history from the start.

Disadvantages – The obvious argument to vote him off early is that he doesn’t need the cash, and he’ll have to worry about that for the first few tribal councils when people are looking to get rid of players for any reason. Another argument is that he’s an obvious physical threat (provided the injuries have not taken a toll), or simply that a guy like him will take up a lot of room in the shelter and require a lot less food than some of the women who weigh more or less a third of what he does.

Prediction – We really like Scot and the energy he is bringing to the show this season. We just don’t see this working for him for no real fault of his own. People will be quick to target him, his injury history worries us, and it’s going to take a miracle situation for him to go far where he finds an alliance of people who realize they need him as a number, and then think they can beat him at the end. He will need to play one of the greatest games in “Survivor” history to convince a jury that he needs more money in his bank account.

What’s your take on Scot as a “Survivor” player? Vote now in the comments, and head over here to get some other spotlights now! Also, sign up over here to secure some other TV news on everything we cover, sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ4kT0vrzJE