Polson Signs His Book At Richmond Place
By Adrian Rudd
Residents of Richmond Place retirement community – many of them longstanding UK fans – enjoyed a book signing Monday with former UK basketball player Jarrod Polson.
Before signing books, Polson described the contents of his autobiography, “Living Beyond the Dream” and then took questions for 30 minutes from 40 or more Richmond Place residents.
Ted Vemont, a Maysville native and fan since 1940 (that covers 75 years of UK basketball) was thrilled to meet the former Wildcat.
“It was a huge treat to meet Jarrod,” he said. “People here just worship him and it was really nice of him to come visit us.”
Barb Kiser, a UK fan for 50 years, also was impressed with Polson.
“He seems like a good Christian guy,” she said.
Polson’s book, released on April 8, discusses the role that his faith has played throughout his basketball journey in high school and college and includes stories from UK’s 2012 national championship season.
During the question-answer session, topics ranged from academic and athletic expectations at UK, to dealing with crazy fans and his thoughts on this past season. Polson enjoyed the event as much as the residents.
“[Seniors] always ask really good questions,” he said. “I love talking to them because they have great stories to tell and a different perspective on UK basketball after being fans for so long.”
On April 9, one day after being released on Amazon, “Living Beyond the Dream” was the No. 1 seller among basketball biographies. Although he has received numerous comments and tweets about how inspiring his book is, he still is overwhelmed by the feedback and the success of the book.
“I never saw myself writing a book, but I just figured it would be a good opportunity to share my experiences since there is a great fan base here in Kentucky,” he said. “I’m glad people have been so positive about the book already.”
Since graduating last year as a double major in business finance and marketing, Polson has spoken at numerous elementary schools across Kentucky and has worked for Kentucky Nonprofit Network and Remix Education.
He has no plans for a second book but wants to continue motivational speaking and working for non-profit organizations.
“So far opportunities [for jobs] have just kind of presented themselves,” Polson said. “I could see myself coaching basketball on some level down the road, but we’ll see.”