CBS Sports - top 15 CBB breakout candidates - Jordan Poole
CBS Sports ranked their top 15 breakout candidates for the upcoming basketball season (it's nice to be excited for that in addition to football) and #1 on their list is Jordan Poole. High expectations. I love it.
The only other player on the list in the Big Ten is Kipper Nichols from Illinois.
1. Jordan Poole | Michigan
2017-18 stats: 6.0 ppg, 12.2 minutes per game, 1.4 rpg
Poole's more than a clutch shot-maker, though his NCAA Tournament heroics against Houston in the second round may be reason why his inclusion is the most obvious of the bunch. He's a known bucket-getter with swag to boot. The Wolverines lose three of their top four scorers from last season's national runner-up squad, so Poole, who played only 12.2 minutes per game last season, should fit seamlessly into Michigan's starting rotation at shooting guard and thrive. His offense will be necessary to UM's success, and offense he shall provide in bunches.
October 10th, 2018 at 8:19 AM ^
Heres hoping he can be a more consistent scorer and defender, that he takes that next step!
On another positive note, I had a friend recently visit BB practice (he is a high school coach), and he said Iggy looked really good! Playing with the 1's and very explosive!
Gonna be a fun year again!
October 10th, 2018 at 8:28 AM ^
One the things I love most about JB teams is the joy they bring to the fans, as we watch these kids come in, work hard, play intelligent hoops, and then move on to bigger and better. It’s always sad when they leave and we can’t watch them anymore but there is always that next group ready to replace them.
October 10th, 2018 at 8:31 AM ^
Poole has the typical demeanor of a 2 guard-happy go lucky...is always open-according to him...
This is going to be a very interesting year for Michigan basketball. These kids could win an NC or miss the tournament altogether. I have no idea how they are going to resolve their PG issues-or if they will...this will be one of the defining aspects of this team. The coaching staff has their work cut out for themselves, here.
October 10th, 2018 at 8:35 AM ^
Wait, what? I think we have a damn solid PG.
October 10th, 2018 at 8:42 AM ^
Logged in to say this... we have an all-B1G point guard. Disregard the troll.
October 10th, 2018 at 9:01 AM ^
We have a PG - one who can score 10-12/game and effectively remove his counterpart from the game
And this team isn’t going to miss the tourney all together dude - that’s such an asinine take. I mean honestly, do you write for the FREEP or something?
October 10th, 2018 at 10:36 AM ^
My disclaimer, aside from being a Michigan fan and not being a "troll", is that I know this game inside out and backwards and forwards-especially defense and the play of the PG, directly.
Mr. Simpson is a TREMENDOUS defensive player and holds great value here...I place great value on defense-in fact, greater on defense than offense. The conundrum is that Zavier is nearly as bad on offense as he is great on defense. At the end of last season he was not a D1 level offensive player on any counts. What happened/how teams played him during the NCAA tournament defines the depth of this problem. The risk here is that with him on the floor teams are going to continue to figure out how to make it a 5 against 4 situation at Michigan's offensive end-and Michigan is going to have to shoot lights out from deep to contend. And additionally, here on this count, in-conference play will compound the issue because teams know each other very well and will figure this out.
This is my basic concern/point. Zavier is going to have to bring his FT shooting up to at least 70%, he is going to have to be able to shoot near 50% from beyond 12 feet and his assist abilities are going to have improve significantly. Angry rants from ignorant fans does not win on the court. Michigan is going to have to figure out a solution here if they are going to contend for championships.
I truly would be most happy to hold a thoughtful, intelligent discussion in these regards-certainly as to what the solutions are while employing Zavier on the offensive end of the court...I know what I would do to defend Michigan here...I also know how I would attempt to mitigate-from Michigan's offensive side-but it is a huge challenge from my perspective.
October 10th, 2018 at 10:50 AM ^
Lol. Ok. Your non-angry rant sounds much better??? Zavier has improved each year. No reason to think that he won't this year. You really think there are like 6 B1G PGs who are going to beat him this year? Well that is what it is going to take for us to possibly miss the tournament. If you are setting all those bars for UM to be in the final four, I am with you. Zavier from last year gets us in the tournament.
October 10th, 2018 at 11:12 AM ^
We get to post our own disclaimers now that state how intelligent we are so people should listen to what we say? That's very cool.
October 10th, 2018 at 8:36 AM ^
We will all be able to cherish the memory of watching Jordan rip out man-bun's soul. Here's hoping for some more clutch play this year whenever we need it most.
October 10th, 2018 at 9:14 AM ^
Team will be fun to watch again this year. Its always enjoyable to see the team struggle a little bit in the beginning of the season and just progressively get better as the season goes along. Just goes to show how well coached this team is, you see the players grow right in front of your eyes!
October 10th, 2018 at 9:21 AM ^
Is anyone here worried that the La Lumiere / Brian Bowen payment fallout will touch Jordan Poole? I'm hoping this trial isn't like throwing water on a grease fire, spattering flaming oil and starting fires in other locations.
October 10th, 2018 at 9:43 AM ^
Why would it? Serious question. Is there anything at all to suggest that there could be collateral damage to current players/coaches? I thought not, but haven't been following closely.
October 10th, 2018 at 10:12 AM ^
They brought in 3 highly-touted, Top 100 players for that senior class with Jaren Jackson, Poole and Bowen. One of them is claiming he got paid. It doesn't take much of a stretch to think that they all got could have gotten some sort of compensation.
I sure hope not. I hope it ends with Jaren Jackson and Bowen.
October 10th, 2018 at 10:27 AM ^
Hopefully no association with Poole, who was not part of that AAU program I don’t think, likely not Jackson either.
October 10th, 2018 at 11:11 AM ^
First, I don't believe Bowen or his dad ever claimed he was offered money by Michigan. Offered money from other schools, sure, but not UM.
Second, Poole is from Wisconsin and Jackson is from Indiana. Different AAU coaches and teams, so not really any overlap there with Bowen.
Finally, UM - Beilein in particular - is widely known to be squeaky clean. I'm sure it's entirely possible that Poole and Jackson were offered money from other schools, but I have a hard time believing that will impact Michigan, unless it can be demonstrated that Poole and/or family actually accepted money from anyone.
tl;dr - I think we're most likely in the clear here and not something over which I'll lose any sleep.
October 10th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
Bowen's dad testified that he received $2,000/month for his son to attend La Lumiere, from the school. This has nothing to do with AAU and, as fas as I cal tell, nothing to do with any college. I'm not implying that Coach Beilein is involved in any way. In fact, there's a good likelihood that most college coaches didn't know of the money that was being given to Bowen to transfer to La Lumiere. But that compensation would make him ineligible.
October 10th, 2018 at 4:10 PM ^
If JB ever sniff any potential money exchange on a prospect, he will stay away from them. He doesn't want to play the dirty game and I have zero reason to believe that Poole is one of them or otherwise, he wouldn't be recruited.
October 10th, 2018 at 11:22 AM ^
It's a great feeling to be excited for both football and basketball in the same season. Go Blue!