Lovelace has led Boys & Girls to the last two PSAL Class AA crowns. (Denis Gostev)
Lawrence (Bud) Pollard stepped to the podium Wednesday afternoon at the press conference for Saturday’s PSAL Class AA final and waxed poetic about Boys & Girls.
He talked about his admiration for the Kangaroos, all they have accomplished in winning back-to-back PSAL Class AA crowns and how he has modeled his program after them. Then he brought up Ruth Lovelace’s name and his glowing remarks continued.
If not for Lovelace, he wouldn’t be where he is today.
Pollard was up for the coaching job at Jefferson. The school’s principal called Lovelace, a good friend, to get her thoughts. She fully endorsed him.
“That’s what Kangaroos do – we look out for one another,” Pollard said.
Lovelace holds a special place in his heart for that very reason, but not that one alone. The two attended Boys High together years ago, Lovelace a senior when he was a sophomore. They were friendly and remained in touch when they went off to college, Lovelace to Seton Hall and Pollard to West Virginia.
Their relationship has grown over the years. Before Pollard landed the job at Jefferson, he was a junior high school coach. He used to tell Lovelace about the best up-and-coming players.
When they became adversaries, their bond grew. The two talk on the phone often, discussing everything from their lives to their teams to their schools. On Monday, Pollard called Lovelace even with the city championship five days away.
“We’ve become a lot closer than people would know,” Lovelace said.
Pollard said it is odd having to get through Boys High and Lovelace for the title. He still considers himself a Kangaroo at heart, except “when I’m doing Orange Wave business,” he joked.
Lovelace said when reporters asked her who she wanted to play after beating Lincoln in the semifinals, she held back. She was rooting for Jefferson.
“I’m happy for him to get here,” she said. “This is a major step.”
Even if Boys High loses on Saturday, Lovelace said her disappointment would equal her happiness for him.
Pollard credits Lovelace with how he has developed his program, building a powerful junior varsity with assistant Seldon Jefferson the same way Elmer Anderson has done at Boys & Girls. Pollard noticed Boys High’s recent success was built on players such as Mike Taylor, Leroy Isler and Antione Slaughter developing together, from winning a JV title as freshmen to losing in the city semifinals as sophomores to ending the Brooklyn school’s own title drought of 31 years.
After last year’s frustrating season, Pollard opted to pass on interested transfers – the opposite of his team’s recent history – and promoted within from his JV program and gave varsity reserves an opportunity. Jefferson entered the year without much hype, but will be at the Garden on Saturday, looking for that elusive city title.
“I took a page out of her book,” Pollard said. “I decided to go the ‘Moneyball’ route and it worked for us. It was easier coaching that type of team, guys in your system for two or three years.”
Pollard and Seldon Jefferson have done a fine job at Jefferson, restoring pride in the once-proud program. Home games are often filled to capacity and the team is now perennially one of the city’s best, even if they had to wait until this winter for playoff success.
A win Saturday would end over a half-century of losing, though Pollard is focused more on the present than the future.
“More than the 60-year title drought, it would mean we brought this program from the bottom all the way to the top,” Pollard said. “We did it with hard work and we did it ourselves.
It would mean a lot, more than the 60 years title drought, it would mean we beat this program from the bottom all the way to the top. We did it with hard work and we did it ourselves. I think about where we came from, where we are today. Hopefully we can get that [championship] – it’s what we strive for.”
To do so, however, he’ll have to get by his good friend. He does have her beat in one aspect, he said. It took her over a decade to get her team to Madison Square Garden. He’s done it in eight years.
Pollard would like to beat his good friend again.