Poison, they called his dad, and Scot Pollard shares the genetic code. This is a story about a former Indiana Pacers cult hero, yes, but also one about life and death, and the secrets of the human body. Some secrets we never learn, while others wait decades to come looking for us in the form of a cough, a sneeze, an echocardiogram.

Pollard knows more about the heart than he ever wanted to know, more than most non-cardiologists ever learn, because of what is happening to him now, and what happened to his father more than 30 years ago.

Pearl Icean Pollard Jr. was a basketball player whose hook shot was so dangerous – some of his schoolboy scoring records still stand, and he is in the Utah Hall of Fame – folks called him “Poison Pearl.” He was a 6-8 hammer, big and strong and sturdy, but his body carried a secret that went undiscovered until 1991. He was 54 years old when the truck he was driving for the city of Solana Beach, California, rolled gently through a stop sign and into a parking lot, where it came to rest against some parked cars.

Pearl was behind the wheel, buckled up, dead. His heart had stopped.

Cardiomyopathy, according to the autopsy.

“His heart was twice the size of normal,” Scot Pollard says, a beautiful thing to say of someone figuratively, but a death sentence in literal terms.

Pearl had caught a virus a year earlier, and doctors say that triggered the condition lying latent within his heart. Cardiomyopathy is one of those mystery afflictions, genetic in certain cases, a disease some of us have and never find out unless the wrong virus, the wrong trigger, comes along and shakes it loose. Some of us, the lucky ones, live and die without ever knowing about the poison in our DNA.

Pearl Pollard wasn’t so lucky, and in so many ways Scot Pollard is his father’s son: the height, the basketball ability, the drive to care for his family. Scot was the free-spirited Pacers big man from 2003-06 who painted his nails at Kansas, introduced funky hairdos to the NBA and in 2016 competed on season 32 of “Survivor.” Years ago, paying homage to his dad – “I’m proud to be my dad’s son,” he says – Scot Pollard had three words tattooed onto his back, three words that explain the player he was, the man he has become and the secret that hadn’t yet revealed itself.

Son of Poison, it says.

Too tired to talk on the phone

Talking on the phone wears him out.

Scot, who lives with his family in Carmel, Indiana, has been doing interviews for days, since he and his wife shared his condition on social media last week with pictures of Scot in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines. He’s home now, with phone calls coming from the heartland and both coasts – ESPN has floated the idea of a documentary – and he’s exhausted.

“He did an interview with someone in Sacramento,” says his wife, Dawn Pollard, “and he had to hang up two or three times to catch his breath.”

That was last Thursday, and by that evening Scot was so exhausted he couldn’t attend his son’s rec league basketball practice. Scot had been among the team’s coaches, but as his condition has worsened, he now goes only to speak to the team and watch, when he can.

Talking tires him out, and walking more than a few feet is impossible. That’s one of the things he misses most: long walks with Dawn. They’d go for an hour, sometimes talking the whole way, sometimes silent, but together always. Scot’s trying to remember how long it’s been since their last walk.

“Three years?” he’s asking Dawn, who says something in the background that has Scot chuckling sadly.

“That’s right,” he says. “After my second ablation I was feeling good. We walked down the street and back and I was like: ‘OK, I’m done.’ That was a year-and-a-half ago.”

Pollard had been monitoring his heart for years, the news always good, even as two of his five older siblings were diagnosed with heart failure and given pacemakers and defibrillators. As recently as January 2021 his heart was testing fine, but he caught a virus in March – not Covid, he says – that left him dizzy and gasping for breath. Another round of testing showed he was in heart failure, and the decline has been steady since.

“They’re pretty sure it’s a genetic thing the virus unlocked,” he says. “Same as my dad.”

Waiting for a heart

He’s waiting for a phone call that might never come. Scot Pollard knows the odds of getting a new heart, and he’s done what he can to avoid those odds, from three ablations to getting a pacemaker and defibrillator to medications doctors stopped prescribing years ago because the risk was bigger than the reward.

Down to one option – a heart transplant – he knows what has to happen somewhere else, to someone else.

“It’s an odd situation to sit here and ponder for an undetermined amount of time,” he says. “The surgeon here said it’s like winning the lottery. We might get lucky next week, next month, next year. It might be longer. It’s like Tom Petty says: The waiting is the hardest part.”

Pollard has run into the same problem as his old man, their size shrinking the donor pool. A body this big requires a heart accustomed to providing that kind of power – “I’m not getting a little old lady’s heart,” he says – so he needs a heart from a large man, 6-1 or 6-2 minimum, and his O-positive blood type isn’t helping. Given that organ demand always exceeds supply, having the most common blood type works against him, not for him.

Pollard is working on those odds by registering at three hospitals: Ascension St. Vincent in Indianapolis, and the hospitals at Vanderbilt and the University of Chicago. The more hospitals in the Midwest, the better.

“The donations go regionally,” he says, “and they’re not going to fly a heart anywhere. The heart won’t come to me – I have to go to the heart. Vanderbilt does more (heart transplants) than anyone in the country, and the range typically is a four-hour drive. They accepted me even though it’s five (hours to Nashville).

“I told them my wife will get me there in four if they give me the call.”

Unable to work and often too tired to leave home, Pollard spends most of his days in sweats and a hat around the house, cold from circulatory issues. A good day is television on the couch, a bad day one in bed; he needs back surgery from his playing career, but doctors aren’t sure his current heart could handle the stress. His two sons are in school and his wife is a realtor, leaving Scot at home a lot with Monkey, the family’s bald cat.

“He looks like Mr. Bigglesworth,” Scot says.

Mr. Bigglesworth is Dr. Evil’s pet cat in the “Austin Powers” movie franchise, and Pollard has dabbled in cinema himself. About a decade ago he helped write and produce “The Association,” a movie about life after the NBA that didn’t make it out of the Hollywood morass. Audiences will never get to see Pollard in the starring role, a player based loosely on his own experiences.

“The main character dies of heart failure,” Pollard says. “The player talks about his dad dying, and it turns out he has the same heart issue.”

Pollard pauses. Something has taken his breath, whether the talking or the subject itself. He is his father’s son, the son of Poison, right down to the artwork on his back, and he is pondering a decade-old piece of fiction about a man fighting for his life.

“Unfortunately,” he says, “life is imitating art.”

Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar.

How are we already a few weeks into January? The New Year is flying by, and March Madness will be here before we know it. Are you ready for it? 

It’s been a riveting season so far in women’s college basketball. We’ve got a generational player in Caitlin Clark on pace to break the scoring record, unranked teams fighting to make statements and ranked teams trying to hold on for dear life in conference play. 

This weekend, one of the best college basketball coaches of all time is set to break a major record, Clark should inch closer to the scoring record and the two top conferences in the country (the ACC and Pac-12) host games with major postseason implications.

Here are five games to keep an eye on: 

No. 5 UCLA at No. 3 Colorado, Friday, 8 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

In what could be a preview of the conference tournament title game, two teams that have legitimate shots at No. 1 seeds will meet in Boulder. The CU Events Center might be the toughest place to play in the Pac-12 given the physical opponent, raucous crowd and 5,430-foot elevation. Buffs point guard Jaylyn Sherrod (13.8 points, 2.6 steals) has the speed to keep up with UCLA guards Kiki Rice (12.9 points) and Londynn Jones (13.3 points), which means the difference might come in the paint. Look for Bruins sophomore post player Lauren Betts (15.6 points, 8.6 rebounds) to have a huge game if UCLA is going to steal a road win. 

No. 4 USC at No. 20 Utah, Friday, 9 p.m., Pac-12 Mountain

The Utes are still smarting from a frustrating home loss to No. 8 Stanford last week, a game with more-than-questionable officiating at the end (Stanford had an obvious shot clock violation that wasn’t called). Can Utah take it out on No. 6 USC and Juju Watkins (26.5 points), currently the frontrunner for national freshman of the year? Or can USC pick up a crucial road win in arguably the best conference in women’s basketball this season? USC beat UCLA last weekend without Rayah Marshall (13.0 points, 10.5 rebounds), the most underrated big in the country. Her return will be key for the Trojans. 

No. 2 Iowa at No. 15 Ohio State, Sunday, 12 p.m., NBC

Caitlin Clark has sold out every Big Ten road game this season, and Sunday’s tilt at the Schottenstein Center will be no exception. The Buckeyes, led by Jacy Sheldon (17.2 points), love to press and run, which means this game will be high-scoring. The conference schedule has been mostly a cakewalk so far for Clark and the Hawkeyes, but Ohio State won’t be intimidated. Iowa’s other perimeter scorers, including Kate Martin (12.3 points) and Molly Davis (5.8 points), will need to put up double-digits to maintain Iowa’s perfect Big Ten record. 

No. 12 Louisville at No. 24 North Carolina, Sunday, 2 p.m., ACC Network

Are the Tar Heels a top 25 team? They’ve jumped in and out of the top 25 throughout the season — and the ACC has seven ranked teams — and dropped a tough one last week to No. 18 Florida State. They have another opportunity to pick up a solid win over the Cardinals, who currently sit atop the conference standings. Five Louisville players average 8.0 points or better, led by Kiki Jefferson (12.2 points), but UNC’s Deja Kelly (15.4 points) is capable of taking over a game at any point. 

Oregon State at No. 8 Stanford, 5 p.m., Sunday, Pac-12 Network

Provided Tara VanDerveer and the Cardinal take care of business, she will become the winningest coach in the history of college basketball with 1,203 wins, surpassing Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. It’ll be a battle of the bigs, with Stanford’s Cameron Brink (17.4 points, 10.8 rebounds) and Oregon State’s Raegan Beers (19.5 points, 11.9 rebounds) going at it in the paint. This game might come down to whoever can stay out of foul trouble. 

Follow Lindsay Schnell on social media @Lindsay_Schnell

NEW YORK – A mutual need brought Marcus Stroman and the Yankees together, with optimism replacing any lingering hard feelings.

“I get the chills thinking about my first start at Yankee Stadium,’’ Stroman said Thursday, a day after his two-year, $37 million free agent contract with a vesting option for 2026 was made official.

Maybe this marriage never happens if the Yankees had signed their top rotation target, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, or pulled off a Dylan Cease trade, or somehow convinced Blake Snell – coming off a Cy Young Award season – to take half of what they offered Yamamoto, yet to throw a big-league pitch.

“I think our team overall is going to be a constant evolution,’’ said Yankees GM Brian Cashman, still open to pitching upgrades in 2024, all the way to the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

That speaks to other questions in the Yanks’ rotation, with Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodon coming off injury-marred seasons and Clarke Schmidt being relied upon more than ever.

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

In the grand scheme, how the Yanks and Stroman got together is less important than how the right-hander might accomplish more than just stabilizing a staff.

“I think we’re capable of definitely having a deep October run,’’ said Stroman. “That’s obviously the goal.’’

Yankees, Marcus Stroman clear the air

Once the Yanks pivoted toward Stroman, with appeal for his high groundball rates and fearless mound demeanor, a few things happened.

Stroman’s social media was suddenly cleared of past posts trolling the Yankees, and Cashman cleared the air in a phone conversation with Stroman.

This trouble dated to September 2019, when Cashman told Yahoo Sports that “we were interested in Stroman but we didn’t think he would be a difference-maker.’’

Traded to the Mets from the Toronto Blue Jays that summer, Stroman followed with a critical Twitter post, comparing his superior pitching stats against the Yankees’ starters.

“It was my bad,’’ Cashman said Thursday, adding that his quote was about Toronto’s asking price.

“For the amount of talent they wanted back, (Stroman) wasn’t going to be enough of a difference-maker,’’ Cashman said. “If I didn’t value the player, I wouldn’t be trying to trade for him.’’

At the time, Cashman apologized to Stroman through Stroman’s then-agent.

Late last month, when the Yankees made their interest known to Stroman’s agent and ex-Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen, Cashman insisted on phoning Stroman to apologize again.

“I wanted him to hear exactly what transpired and what was intended and not intended,” Cashman said. ‘He didn’t deserve how this was playing out.’’

Ready to thrive at Yankee Stadium

Stroman wasn’t seeking an explanation from Cashman.

“We kind of laughed about it and we moved on,’’ Stroman said of their recent phone conversation. “He let me know how interested he was in me as a pitcher, thought that I was someone that would thrive in the lights and the pressure.

“And I thought it was a perfect fit.’’

Growing up on Long Island as a Yankees fan, Stroman has long felt he’s built for the Bronx.

“I think a lot of guys avoid coming to New York and playing for the Yankees because of that reason,’’ Stroman said of the pressurized atmosphere. “I’m someone who feels it brings out the best in me.’’

Stroman’s fiery nature has also extended to battles on social media. “I’d say I’m misunderstood, for sure,’’ said Stroman, responding to that direct question.

But he’s eager for Yankees fans to watch him compete, “something I do at the highest level,’’ and to tap into Gerrit Cole’s knowledge while blending into the staff.

“I feel like I’m someone who adapts very easily,’’ said Stroman, adding that Cole, captain Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe were among the new teammates who’ve already reached out.

Stroman is physically ‘100 percent”

Last season with the Chicago Cubs, Stroman was 9-4 with a 2.28 ERA through June 20 (16 starts) when a hip problem flared up.

On his way back, a rib cage cartilage fracture effectively ended his season after July 31; he made four September appearances, totaling eight innings.

“Physically, I’m ready,’’ said Stroman, having already thrown “four-to-five’’ bullpen sessions in Tampa, Fla., residing 10 minutes from the Yankees spring training headquarters.

Manager Aaron Boone visited Stroman at his home before the signing, and Stroman described the ribcage fracture as fully healed.

Stroman last threw 200 innings in 2017, but he’s averaged 137 innings over the previous two seasons. His contract would become a $55 million, three-year deal if he pitches 140 innings in 2025.

“When I’m healthy, I would put myself up as one of the best pitchers in baseball,’’ said Stroman, adding, ‘I do think the best is still in me.

“I can’t wait and put the pinstripes on. It just couldn’t be a better fit at this point in my career.’’