Glenville, W.Va. - From the streets of Brooklyn to the hills of Central West Virginia, Jamal Pollydore is one of the unique stories in the Glenville State College Athletic Department.
 
On track to get his degree this year, Pollydore is very thankful for the opportunities he has in front of him, and for the game that has helped him get to this point academically. While he is in the last month of his college basketball career, his life career professionally is very much in the early stages.
 
Pollydore has several reasons to count his many blessings, and it all starts back in his home neighborhood; the Brownsville section of Brooklyn.
 
"I understand the value of being able to finish college and get my degree," Pollydore said. "So many people back in my neighborhood never get far enough to even get a high school diploma, so I have worked very hard to take this next step."
 
Pollydore's journey began in Brooklyn, where he spent his entire childhood. Both of his parents are Caribbean native, with his mother hailing from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad & Tobago, while his father is from the South American nation of Guyana. He attended PS327 Elementary School, and the UFT (United Teacher's Federation) Charter School through his middle school years. It was after his eighth grade year that he made the decision to transfer out of Brooklyn's Charter School system and into a public high school.
 
"I made the team as an eighth grader, but I wasn't very good at that point, and didn't contribute a great deal. But as an eighth grader, my game really improved and I was a leader on the team," Pollydore said. "After eighth grade I decided to attend George Westinghouse High School, which was my district's public school."
 
Pollydore's UFT squad won their league championship that year. It was the first basketball title in the school's history.
 
He transferred to Westinghouse to play in the Brooklyn A Division. After the move, GW actually moved up to the PSAL (Public School Athletic League) AA Division.
 
In high school, Pollydore did not make the GW varsity team in each of his first two years, but did so his junior year and contributed off the bench. He produced a strong senior year as the school's starter at the two-guard spot. It was after his senior year, that his game made a major jump.  Pollydore credits a lot of his development to the summer games he played in New York City's legendary playground circuit.
 
"In choosing the leave the Charter School, I put myself into a program that played some very high level competition," Pollydore said. "It was the games in the street leagues though that really gave me the confidence to improve. The summer before my senior year in high school I was able to get a lot better, and it was then that I developed my shot. I had several good coaches at that time, Coach Darrell Frazier and Coach Rob Diaz from Queens worked with me, and also Coach Tippy from New York City…these guys are legends on the playgrounds, and they were the first ones who told me stop passing all the time…to start putting up shots with confidence when I am open."
 
In recognizing the help he received from these fine coaches, Pollydore noted that many players in the City were a part of the AAU circuit. In not playing AAU he did not get to play against much of the higher competition in that organization.

Pollydore's talents were recognized Nia Prep Academy in Newark, New Jersey.  He averaged 16 points per game, and his success allowed him to start receiving interest from college coaches. After his successful season, he found a JUCO system to fit his talents as a perimeter shooter. He landed at Niagara Community College in Western New York, playing for Coach Bill Beilein, the nephew of coaching legend John Beilein.
 
As a freshman at NCCC, Pollydore averaged 12 minutes a six points per game for a talented squad. He became a starter as a sophomore, and averaged 16 points per game in 25 minutes per contest, playing on another NCCC team that advanced into the NJCAA National Tournament. He made all-conference, and the deep postseason run allowed his shooting skills to be exposed to some four-year colleges.
 
"It was a great experience with Coach Beilein," Pollydore said. "We played the two-guard offense and played a lot of 1-3-1 on defense. Plus, it was a real family experience and that was something that meant a lot being at that age and away from home. Even though I didn't play much as a freshman, I was in the gym with Coach Beilein and Coach (Mike) Corbi everyday learning an organized system…with several drills to prepare me for the next level."

Pollydore's hard work paid off with his solid second season. He was named Conference Player of the Year, and was also named on the JUCO All-American list.

After his second season at NCCC, Pollydore was taking a hard look at the various offers he had on the table. His top choice for some time, was California University of Pennsylvania, where Assistant Coach Justin Caldwell was selling Jamal on the "D'Antoni" offense and how shooter-friendly that system would be for his talent. He made two visits to Cal and Coach Caldwell.
 
In the end, an offer from the south would sway Pollydore. He signed with Clark-Atlanta University in Atlanta, and their head coach; former NBA star Darrell Walker. Walker had played ten years in the NBA (83-93) after a star-studded career at the University of Arkansas…he had also been an NBA head coach for both the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards. But now he was at CAU, and his 2017 squad had just made the NCAA D-II Tournament.
 
It was all too much for Pollydore to pass up.
 
Pollydore thrived at CAU, drilling 42% of his three-point attempts, and averaged 13 points per game. The team again made it to the D-II National Tournament, and closed with a 24-6 record. He was prepared to help his squad make a deep run in the tournament in 2019…but fate intervened.
 
On March 27^th, right after their loss in the NCAA Tournament, Coach Walker announced he was leaving. He returned home to Arkansas, accepting the head coaching job at Arkansas-Little Rock. This left Pollydore at a crossroads; would he stay at CAU and work with a new coach and a potential new system, or transfer and find another home for his senior year.
 
His answer came in reaching out to someone familiar...Coach Justin Caldwell. The former Cal assistant was named the new head coach at Glenville State College on April 10^th. The timing was perfect for all parties involved.
 
After getting his clearance to shop for a new school, Caldwell and Pollydore began correspondence. Shortly afterward, he committed to GSC.

"I knew that Coach Caldwell had a good plan in taking over his own program, and it would a fun offense that was up-tempo," Pollydore said. "I never visited. I committed to Glenville over the phone, and never came to West Virginia until I moved in for my classes."
 
Pollydore has been productive for the Pioneers. To date, he is averaging 16.7 points per game, and has dished out a team high 86 assists. His 84.0% free throw percentage has him ranked seventh in the Mountain East Conference. He has had an amazing basketball career along the way scoring over 1,400 points.
 
"Jamal Pollydore has been an outstanding player for us all year long," Caldwell said. "He has been through a lot of adversity and has never quit fighting. He came in with one year remaining and has helped establish the culture that we will have moving forward. He is an outstanding person and will be very successful in his future endeavors."
 
Pollydore is hopeful his body of work as a college player will equate to some basketball opportunities after GSC. He is going to explore options of potentially playing overseas.
 
With is college basketball career winding down, Pollydore has his sights on graduation, and getting that coveted degree.
 
"I can't get emphasize the importance of that moment enough," Pollydore said. "To make it this far…when so many people back home have not. It will be a great accomplishment."
 
Looking into the future, beyond basketball and into his professional life, Pollydore's focus will be on giving back. While his immediate plans, post basketball, are to find a job in the field of Health Promotions, he has another job that is considered his larger goal. This is where he threw our interview a curveball.
 
"My dream job…I would like to go back to New York City and serve as the Press Secretary for the Bureau of Public Affairs."
 
"That would be a mechanism for me impart a lot of positivity to the people back home," Pollydore said. "A way for me use my story to help a lot of other young people out there, or just anyone with a dream."
 
It all makes sense. Pollydore has been the young man who is a positive teammate in a season that has had some adversity for the Pioneers; the young man always smiling during shootarounds, and a player always eager to execute the game plan the coaching staff has set forth.
 
It makes sense that his next life will include a positive role in the world of Public Service.
 
It has been a long and winding road for Pollydore, with stops in New Jersey, Sanborn NY, Atlanta GA, and finally here in the hills of Central WV. The place he plans to walk across the stage with the ultimate prize he set out to attain.