Our next installment of our ongoing series of previewing Michigan's 2018-19 basketball players is the "overdose of swag" himself: Jordan Poole. Poole burst onto the scene as a freshman and Michigan fans will certainly be expecting even more from the entertaining guard. We're going to take a look at how he projects to develop this upcoming year.
An Introduction:
Poole spent his senior year of high school coming off the bench as an impact sub for the best high school team in the nation. His role was somewhat similar here at Michigan in his first year. Poole's most valuable asset is his stellar stroke from the three-point line where he shot 37%, but his highlight reel also consists of high-flying dunks, some big blocks, and very strong takes to the basket. Just as Nik Stauskas was "more than just a shooter" during his time at the University of Michigan, so too is Jordan Poole, and he will look to continue to develop and prove this to those that don't believe it.
Last Season:
Stat wise, Poole made the most of limited minutes by averaging just over six points while averaging just twelve-and-a-half minutes played. Poole forced his way into the line-up with play early in the season, with his true breakout coming at home against Indiana. After Charles Matthews committed a foul just fourteen seconds into the game, Poole checked in and fired away to the tune of nineteen points against the Hoosiers at home in what perhaps ended up as not just his roster spot solidifying game, but his best game of the entire season.
Down the stretch of the regular season saw some key performances from Poole as well. He hit three big threes in the one-point victory at home over Maryland, had a posterizing dunk over Julian Moore at Penn State, and chipped in four threes at home to Ohio State on senior night. As Poole hit his best form of the season, the team followed suit as Poole was an integral part of the team, but no moment could be bigger than "the shot" against Houston. His buzzer-beater to send Michigan to a one-point win over Houston allowed them to continue their run to the national championship game and is a shot that will live forever in Michigan lore. Michigan fans will hope the excitement Poole brought was just a sampling of things to come as he will be a crucial part of the team's puzzle if they are to repeat their outstanding run last season.
Strong Points:
Of course, the strongest element of Poole's game is his three-point shooting. Poole took the fourth most attempts from behind the arc in under half the minutes of every other top five shooter on the team (he shot one more three than Charles Matthews despite a whopping 758 minutes). 37% is also pretty solid as a percentage for such a high-volume freshman shooter and one would like to see that nudge closer to 40% perhaps, but Michigan fans would be happy if it held steady. Poole has also shown athleticism on his drives and moves to get open behind the arc. That in his arsenal could translate into the skills to play as a point guard every now and again to fit a rotation on the floor of him, Matthews, Ignas Brazdeikis, Brandon Johns, and Isaiah Livers. The excitement and enthusiasm he brings into every game on every possession is warmly appreciated by the Crisler faithful and really helps boost the atmosphere in the crowd.
Areas of Improvement:
One that coach Beilein highlighted, and one that he noted even kept him out of the line-up at times, was Poole's defensive ability. This noticeably improved over the season and one will imagine this is a key focus for the coaching staff on Poole over the summer. Aside from the defensive side of the ball, there is no true area that Poole MUST improve on, but rather the biggest necessity is for him to better all of his skills. Poole needs to take that sophomore step forward and go from a bench contributor playing a role on the team to a starting shooting guard playing 30 minutes per game, and to do that his production will have to take that step up with him. Poole has shown himself capable of performing under the big lights, the hope will be that he can do it over the course of an entire season.
Final Thoughts:
It is very hard not to get excited by Jordan Poole. Between the hype built as a result of this year combined with the freshman class of this upcoming season, one of the present talking points for past and future has been Poole. With buzzer-beaters and swag for days, he seems almost certain to play an integral role in the season to come. I'm expecting a serious breakout season from him with the additional minutes he is likely to play. A backcourt of he and Simpson is set to be incredibly fun to watch.
All stats obtained from SportsReference.
An Introduction:
Poole spent his senior year of high school coming off the bench as an impact sub for the best high school team in the nation. His role was somewhat similar here at Michigan in his first year. Poole's most valuable asset is his stellar stroke from the three-point line where he shot 37%, but his highlight reel also consists of high-flying dunks, some big blocks, and very strong takes to the basket. Just as Nik Stauskas was "more than just a shooter" during his time at the University of Michigan, so too is Jordan Poole, and he will look to continue to develop and prove this to those that don't believe it.
Last Season:
Stat wise, Poole made the most of limited minutes by averaging just over six points while averaging just twelve-and-a-half minutes played. Poole forced his way into the line-up with play early in the season, with his true breakout coming at home against Indiana. After Charles Matthews committed a foul just fourteen seconds into the game, Poole checked in and fired away to the tune of nineteen points against the Hoosiers at home in what perhaps ended up as not just his roster spot solidifying game, but his best game of the entire season.
Down the stretch of the regular season saw some key performances from Poole as well. He hit three big threes in the one-point victory at home over Maryland, had a posterizing dunk over Julian Moore at Penn State, and chipped in four threes at home to Ohio State on senior night. As Poole hit his best form of the season, the team followed suit as Poole was an integral part of the team, but no moment could be bigger than "the shot" against Houston. His buzzer-beater to send Michigan to a one-point win over Houston allowed them to continue their run to the national championship game and is a shot that will live forever in Michigan lore. Michigan fans will hope the excitement Poole brought was just a sampling of things to come as he will be a crucial part of the team's puzzle if they are to repeat their outstanding run last season.
Strong Points:
Of course, the strongest element of Poole's game is his three-point shooting. Poole took the fourth most attempts from behind the arc in under half the minutes of every other top five shooter on the team (he shot one more three than Charles Matthews despite a whopping 758 minutes). 37% is also pretty solid as a percentage for such a high-volume freshman shooter and one would like to see that nudge closer to 40% perhaps, but Michigan fans would be happy if it held steady. Poole has also shown athleticism on his drives and moves to get open behind the arc. That in his arsenal could translate into the skills to play as a point guard every now and again to fit a rotation on the floor of him, Matthews, Ignas Brazdeikis, Brandon Johns, and Isaiah Livers. The excitement and enthusiasm he brings into every game on every possession is warmly appreciated by the Crisler faithful and really helps boost the atmosphere in the crowd.
Areas of Improvement:
One that coach Beilein highlighted, and one that he noted even kept him out of the line-up at times, was Poole's defensive ability. This noticeably improved over the season and one will imagine this is a key focus for the coaching staff on Poole over the summer. Aside from the defensive side of the ball, there is no true area that Poole MUST improve on, but rather the biggest necessity is for him to better all of his skills. Poole needs to take that sophomore step forward and go from a bench contributor playing a role on the team to a starting shooting guard playing 30 minutes per game, and to do that his production will have to take that step up with him. Poole has shown himself capable of performing under the big lights, the hope will be that he can do it over the course of an entire season.
Final Thoughts:
It is very hard not to get excited by Jordan Poole. Between the hype built as a result of this year combined with the freshman class of this upcoming season, one of the present talking points for past and future has been Poole. With buzzer-beaters and swag for days, he seems almost certain to play an integral role in the season to come. I'm expecting a serious breakout season from him with the additional minutes he is likely to play. A backcourt of he and Simpson is set to be incredibly fun to watch.
All stats obtained from SportsReference.
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