Poole leaving due to ball screens?

His dad at this point is as infuriating as watching his son do his own thing on the court in key moments of big games. 

Poole had some great moments at Michigan...but I don’t understand why everyone is so undone by this.  He was a good player...not a great player.  He will be lucky to get drafted and stick with an NBA team (but has the size athleticism that it is not a total pipe dream)...but if he is ready to go...ok...not a big deal...someone else will shine for Beilein.

There's no "poole" in team

I have no interested in knocking Poole. But the idea that John Beilein's offense isn't a good one for wings is...odd.

The poor dead horse is getting the shit beat out of him.

Jordan Poole's gripe about the offense was really a gripe about the other guys in the lineup that were laying bricks. Simpson can't shoot and that clogs up the offense versus opponents that are reasonably talented on defense. So, most of the time, Michigan had 3 guys on the floor (Matthews, Simpson, and Teske) that were not reliable shooting threats at all. That hurts a guy like Poole since defenses can key on him.

You can't say "Michigan won't be able to win big games with a player who is as limited offensively as Simpson" since the B1G tourney and NCAA Tourney run kinda shows otherwise. But I think that ignores the fact that Michigan got a good bit of luck in that NCAA tourney run. Plus, that team was loaded with guys who were legit threats from behind the 3 pt line and who were good passers. The team this year was almost the polar opposite.

Any guy is going to look less effective when the guys around him can't shoot well, but I think Simpson's effectiveness suffers to a particularly large degree by that given his strengths and weaknesses.

I stick by a comment I made awhile ago.  Poole and Matthews leaving will improve the team offensively.  Matthews was a bad offensive player and efforts to run sets for him were a waste.  Poole is a highly skilled offensive player who showed flashes but sets for him were equally inefficient.  He should not be a primary ball handler and creator.  He is terrible at it.  His handle is super loose, he would make about 5 moves that created zero space for himself and were not at all directed at getting teammates open, and then he would take an ill-advised shot or pass the ball back to Z, who can't shoot, and would then have 8 seconds left on the shot clock to do something.  The team's incredible defense (of which Matthews was a HUGE part) resulted in two very, very successful years.  So I would never say we would have been better without them or say that they were not valuable contributors.  And Poole's flashes were absolutely impressive and entertaining.  But the team certainly can improve in his absence.  If Poole gets it together defensively, I could see him having a decent NBA career - lofty ceiling would fall somewhere short of Ray Allen. 

This is an amicable divorce. The End.

I have no interest in any fans opinion of any players' "legacy at Michigan".

So what came first, his decision to leave or his inability to hit the broad side of a barn? Pretty sure they both happened at the same time 

"The team the team the team" is dead. Captain Higdon put this mantra in the coffin by sitting out the bowl game and Poole hammered the nails into it by going pro in January. We need more WE players not ME players.

Holy fuck this subject is exhausting.

This should only further cement the idea it was good for him to move on to the league or wherever he ends up. Michigan shouldn't want a guy who's unhappy and wants to play elsewhere on the team - what good does that do anyone? - bad for chemistry, other players development, morale,etc. 

And Jordan shouldn't stick around and be unhappy and 'stick it out' for another year just because fans think he might be better off. He can go develop in a system that fits him better in his mind and try to make some money.

He might end up being "wrong" and could have been drafted higher or developed better our coaching staff but that's a hypothetical and its equally likely the opposite is true. if you're mad about this it's because you want him to be on the team and play better next year or to have played better this year or something. That's obviously not an option so why are you mad? move on. The players and coaches don't seem to be upset about it.

No. Nonsense 

Who gives a fuck about him now, get over it. He wasn't even that good...

It sounds like his father wasn't the easiest guy to deal with.

I rooted for him and wish him well in the future.  I'm just glad he sucked the last half of the year so it's not as painful that he's leaving.

GO BLUE!!

I do think Jordan needed more opportunities with the ball in his hands to grow as a player. But I do not think that was what was best for the team to be at its best. Poole was just wildly inconsistent this year. He had that stretch in December and early January where it looked like he was heading toward a Stauskas like breakthrough. But it didn't happen. He had opportunities but didn't take advantage of them. He needed to work through them, but the way the team was constructed did not allow him to work through them. I think he could improve with another year, but it's not a guarantee. 

He's a draftable player IMO. I'd take a flyer on him in the second half of the second round. Could end up a pretty nice piece if he develops physically and gains some consistency. 

hashtag no bad days

Good luck to Jordan and his family. Beilein will recruit a player and coach him up to fill the void.

Rinse. Lather. Repeat.

I think Poole is nuts.  Good scorers should LOVE playing with a PG like Simpson because he will get you the ball when you are open and put the ball right in your breadbasket.  So, when you play with a guy like that, get open, and get ready to score when you get the ball.

Poole was rather ineffective at playing iso ball.  The entire team lacked players that were effective late in the shot clock when the play broke down.  Poole got a TON of opportunities to show he was our "go-to-guy" and he never seized it.

The reality is, if Poole was an offensive star, he would have been lighting it up on a regular basis for us.  I can understand him wanting the ball more often because, that's a pretty standard complaint for players.  But I think the idea that he would have been a star if he had the ball a ton seems just wrong to me.  He's a shooting guard with the ability to get to the rim, not a point guard.  Look at what Stauskas was able to accomplish in that same role.  He turned himself into a first round pick in just 2 years. 

Oh well, if he didn't want to be here, then he wasn't going to be a good locker room presence.  I liked him, but no point in keeping a malcontent around.

Anyone who has played a sport knows that team chemistry is huge -- one the court/field and off. One or two guys can ruin it. I don't know if Poole was that guy, but it's starting to sound like it a little. 

Here's what I'll say about Poole and his ability as a playmaker.  Go back and watch the first half of the Wisconsin game in Madison.  I attended that game.   Poole was lights out with the ball in his hands.  He was electric. This trait was unfortunately inconsistent, but I caught a glimpse of what Poole could be.   That's when I truly saw Ace's vision.   As a selfish UM fan, I wanted one more year to see if JP could perform at that level on a consistent basis.   I'm just sad that it won't happen at Crisler and other Big 10 courts next winter.

I feel like his struggles were overstated and his talent was overstated. Poole is definitely very talented, but we're talking about the NBA - he is not exactly "special" by their standards. He has his work cut out for him but he could definitely have a nice NBA career

What exactly did his dad think running him off more ball screens was going to create? Teams would have just switched it and he is not good enough to beat guys off the dribble and he would be an awful decision maker coming off of the screens. It's like he thinks that just setting ball screens for him will automatically give him an open three or an easy drive to the basket. 

It's clear he just wanted a bigger part in the offense that he felt like he wasn't getting. Wanted more ball screens and/or to be the primary ball handler more often

This is what has driven me crazy about the whole Poole situation.  Yes there are some assholes who just shit on a kid for leaving regardless of context, but pointing out that he struggled for more than half the year and has flaws in his game isn't the same as being a hater.  As Dylan and others have noted, the actual on-court performance doesn't mesh with the narrative that he was misused within the offense.  Is Simpson now an ideal PG for Beilein's offense?  Sure.  But this team has been immensely creative on offense over the years to fit the general strengths of it's players, and had Poole had been more consistent my guess is they would have highlighted him more.

But as it stands he was a guy who wasn't particularly efficient offensively once the new year began, and when he wasn't hitting 3s at a fantastic rate he failed to do much else (like get to the rim or generate assists) and struggled defensively.  Nobody is doubting his talent offensively, but remove the name, team, and the shot against Houston and ask yourself if a guy with Poole's resume should be going to the NBA this season.  The answer would likely be "no".

I hope he's successful where he goes, but I still think this is a bad decision for him.  Will he get paid quicker and be able to focus solely on basketball instead of have to balance being a student?  Sure.  But I don't know if he'll get any better preparation in the G-league or Europe (if he doesn't get on an NBA roster, which seems unlikely).

The article's analysis is excellent.

There are two sides of this that are both kind of right:

1. Poole struggled. His own poor shooting hurt his performance significantly. He didn't always want to be the guy Michigan needed to be.

2. The offense isn't going to change much next year with Simpson and Teske, and their limitations mean that Poole can continue to be a target of opposing defenses in a way that can damper his ability to produce. When Poole has the ball, Simpson's defender can cheat into the lane. Simpson cannot shoot fast enough or well enough to punish teams for that. The best shape of Michigan's offense, that most engages and challenges the entire defense, is with the ball in Simpson's hands.

I still think Poole would have developed a lot. And I think he hurt himself with his performance, and I think he has some growing up to do and won't get drafted well or at all. But the analysis of where Michigan will be next year is not wrong at all, and I can understand the logic.  

We have seen a NCAA final game and a sweet 16 in his 2 years here with him being a key player on both teams.  That will be his legacy and it's better than most.

The 2nd half of the year, teams figured out you don't have to guard Simpson at all, just sag off him because he's not an effective shooter.  Poole has some valid complaints, but he's also way overestimating how good he is.

Cant wait for the other JP to get here and light it up at 40+% from beyond the arc

It's one thing to leave early......but then to dump on our program and its players?  C'mon now.

Everyone here agrees that the team hit a wall at mid-season after a perfect start.  So the question is: how much is due to the Poole attitude affecting team play and how much is due to other teams figuring out the system and finding a way to shut it down?

The team seemed to have lost its offensive flow and creative plays - just going through the motions, at times.

I'll leave it to the better BB minds here to throw in their 2¢.

Was it his teammates’ fault that he was a defensive liability too?  Good luck to him.