Former KU Jayhawks forward Pollard, others laud hire of Vaughn: ‘He’s a sage’
California natives Scot Pollard and Jacque Vaughn lived together at Jayhawker Towers during their four years as men’s basketball teammates at the University of Kansas.
Pollard, the flamboyant 6-foot-11, 265-pound mountain of a man from San Diego, recalled those days with The Star in a phone interview Wednesday.
“I was the sloppy roommate,” Pollard said. “He was the neat roommate. I was the guy that was like, ’Is all my work done? Yeah, OK, I’m done.’
“He’s the guy that was studying after hours, studying plays, studying defenses, doing more research, making sure he knew everybody’s position on the whole team.”
Pollard’s comments came about an hour after KU head coach Bill Self officially hired Vaughn as a member of his 2025-26 Jayhawks coaching staff.
“We were literally Felix and Oscar (from the old TV show “Odd Couple”),” the 50-year-old Pollard continued. “Our personalities are very different. We’re born a day apart. He’s one day older than me.”
At KU, Pollard sported hairstyles ranging from a Mohawk to fully shaved head, mutton-chop sideburns and painted fingernails. Such fashion choices were likely never considered by the more conservative and reflective 6-1, 195-pound floor general Vaughn during their days as Jayhawks (1994-97).
“We’ve been extremely close. Even when we don’t talk for years ... when we connect, we connect like we haven’t missed a minute and it’s always going to be like that,” Pollard said. “We’ve always had that special relationship. So I’m happy that he’s going to be back in Lawrence, so I know where he is and I’m going to be able to come visit.”
Pollard — he competed for 11 years in the NBA to Vaughn’s 12 — said Self made a perfect assistant coaching hire in Vaughn, who has no college coaching experience but brings five years of head coaching experience in the NBA, with Orlando and most recently Brooklyn.
“He’s a relentless worker. He’s a sage,” Pollard said. “No offense to the rest of the guys (on KU’s staff), he’ll be the smartest guy in the room. He’s just got a way about him, a discipline about him that you can’t ignore. And he’s inspiring to other people and players especially. They (players) have got to buy in, but if they buy in, yes, they will be better as a result of listening to Jacque and his advice.”
Of Vaughn’s absence of college coaching on his current resume, Pollard said: “Maybe there will be an adjustment period. Maybe it won’t be as easy for him as we would all hope it would be, and it also might be seamless, because he’s that kind of guy.”
The Star spoke to four individuals from Vaughn’s college days on Wednesday. Here are excerpts from those phone conversations:
Jerod Haase, former UAB and Stanford head coach and KU and North Carolina assistant who played in the same backcourt as Vaughn at KU for three seasons:
“They’ll be great,” Haase said of the Jayhawks, whose staff includes head coach Self and assistants Vaughn, Kurtis Townsend, Jeremy Case, Joe Dooley and Chase Buford. Vaughn replaces long-time assistant Norm Roberts, who recently announced his retirement after 14 years at KU and 37 years total in coaching.
“Jacque is one of those individuals, it’s the Midas Touch. Everything he touches turns to gold,” Haase said.
Haase, like Pollard, kept in contact with Vaughn after their days at KU came to a close. Haase redshirted in 1993-94 after transferring from Cal.
“I think the biggest thing for me was he was such a competitor,” Haase said. “And so for he and I to be on the court together, it was just really fun for me to be out there with somebody that I knew would play as hard as he could, compete as hard as he could, at all times. And for me, that was something that was pretty special.”
Asked the qualities that make Vaughn a good point guard as well as a good coach, Haase said: “That’s kind of endless. He has such a complete package of experience and knowledge. It’s the ability to communicate, it’s the knowledge of the game, it’s the relationships he’s had over the years, continues to have, and there aren’t that many people out there in the basketball world that have just the skill set, the complete skill-set That Jacque has.
“He’s extremely cerebral, but also had the ability to do the combination of play his own game, but also be a leader for other guys. And certainly he always thought the game, and I think coach Williams (Roy, Vaughn’s coach at KU) would agree that he was like having a coach on the floor.”
Haase believes Vaughn’s NBA coaching experience will be a huge asset for KU.
“Any time, this would have been a natural fit just because of his knowledge of the game, his knowledge of Kansas, and all his experiences,” Haase told The Star. “But there’s never been a time where the NBA knowledge and experience and model is more applicable than now.
“I think in many ways, an NBA coach is more aligned with the new college world than even older college coaches. Jacque will certainly bring a wealth of experience there.”
Ryan Robertson, who was a teammate of Vaughn’s at KU two seasons (1995-96, ‘96-’97):
“I think it’s a great day for Kansas basketball. I’m really excited for Jacque. I’m really excited for KU. I’m excited for the young players that he gets to coach. I think it puts our program in a situation where they’re going to get real time, first-hand NBA coaching, NBA insight in today’s game.”
“When you have a program like Kansas, where you’re recruiting players that want to go to the NBA, you need that. I point to lots of other programs that have somebody on their staff that has some level of NBA connection, but not necessarily from a former player who just spent time in the NBA as a very successful head coach, won an NBA championship (as player with San Antonio Spurs in 2007), played for one of the all time greats in Gregg Popovich. I just honestly can’t think of a better hire by Coach Self.”
Asked to pinpoint the qualities that make Vaughn a natural for the college game, Robertson said: “He’s a cerebral guy, He’s a thoughtful guy. He’s stable. On your staff you want people that are reliable and consistent. He was a great point guard because you knew what you were going to get: great defense, good decisions, no turnovers, prototypical point guard, and that’s why he was an All-American. That’s why he was in the league for so long, and that’s why he’ll be great.”
Robertson thinks Vaughn will fit in well as a recruiter.
“There’s immediate credibility,” Robertson said. “If I’m a high school kid or transfer portal kid, and I want to go to the NBA and I want to stop at college on my way to the NBA, what better place to do it than Kansas, playing for one of the all time great college basketball coaches (Hall of Famer Self) and getting tutored by a guy that’s been in the NBA for 20 years as a player and a coach and won a world championship (Vaughn).”
Dean Buchan, media relations director in charge of KU men’s basketball during Vaughn’s four seasons in Lawrence:
Vaughn seemed to make friends easily both at KU and on road trips. Buchan remembered the KU guard charming the country of France during the Jayhawks’ trip to that nation for a European tour over Christmas break during the 1996-97 season.
“People were drawn to Jacque. He had that great smile,” Buchan said. “Over break one year we went to France. We flew over there on the Concorde as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation.
“There were 18 teams in a tournament, 17 were professional European teams. The first game was a 20-minute game against a pro team. Jacque gets three fouls and the ref tells Coach Williams, ‘Jacque has fouled out of the game.’ Clearly they didn’t explain the rules to us.
“We lost the game, the next game and the next game. Out of 18 teams we finished 18th. We go back to the hotel (after final game) and everybody’s in a bad mood. Everybody’s mad because we didn’t play well. The players are eating dinner, and a representative of the tournament comes to the hotel and tells Coach Williams that Jacque needs to come back to the arena for the end of the championship game.
“Roy said, ‘Why?’ They said he was named MVP of the tournament. Jacque’s stats weren’t all that great, and we finished last, but the people loved him.
“One thing is his name is ‘Jacque.’ The French people liked that,” Buchan added with a laugh. “He had that great on-court personality as well. Jacque reluctantly went back to the arena with our director of operations, Ben Miller, to accept the award.”
Buchan also recalled that during a team tour of ESPN studios on another trip, Vaughn approached a SportsCenter broadcaster — the late Stuart Scott — and offered a catchphrase to consider during his broadcast. Scott, who had sayings such as, ‘cooler than the other side of the pillow,” used Vaughn’s offering and was complimentary of the Jayhawks on air.
Vaughn also one time patiently worked with Sports Illustrated during a photo shoot that turned into an hour-long task. The magazine cover shot turned out so impressive that Buchan had it framed.
“Jacque was a person who on Sundays would plan out his week hour by hour. For an 18-year-old college student, that’s pretty impressive. He was that organized,” Buchan said.
“He was the ideal point guard for Coach Williams because he was truly a coach on the floor. He was exceptionally smart, extremely unselfish and a natural leader. That started his freshman year when he came in as a starter.
“Jacque’s a very humble, intelligent guy; Jerod is in there, too. It was an amazing backcourt with those two, on the court and off. And obviously they’ve gone on to have incredibly successful careers.”
Buchan noted that fans fell in love with Vaughn early on. He hit a shot during his freshman year to beat Indiana at home in overtime.
“People are drawn to Jacque,” Buchan said. “He always looked like he loved playing the game and he was respectful to all. (And) he was a good quote (in dealings with media).”
Vaughn is expected to begin working at KU in early June.
This story was originally published May 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Former KU Jayhawks forward Pollard, others laud hire of Vaughn: ‘He’s a sage’."
