2017 - G - Jordan Poole (Commit)

Final stats for Poole:
33 pts, 10/22 shooting on 5/14 from 3 and 8/9 on free throws. 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal.

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I watched Jordan a bit on Friday - made some nice passes in transition

Good to hear I was getting worried about his production. Looks great on film but his lack of stats were freaking me out.


But Jordan Poole doesnā€™t dunk in his highlight videos!!

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Video:
https://twitter.com/i/videos/tweet/734778216661979137

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Iā€™ve watched him a good bit on the EYBL circuit - the speed and athleticism at that level definitely impacted him. Big difference between NY2LA comp (Wisconsin PGE) and EYBL. A few days ago someone asked why there was such a big disparity between Pooles AAU numbers last year vs this year - thatā€™s the answer, just didnā€™t want to say it at the time

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Another thing is that heā€™s not just playing in the EYBL, heā€™s playing on a bad team in the EYBL. If you look at some of the guys having huge shooting years in EYBL (Hueitt, Davison, etc.) they play for the best teams with some truly elite kids. That goes a long way.

Poole is the guy taking the most shots for his teams against other teams that usually have five-star kids in that role. That leads to a lot of shot jacking and playing catch up.

I still love his skillset, but this is another reason why it can be hard to gain everything from EYBL (or other AAU) stats.

To add a bit to what Dylan said, playing on a bad team (and Mac Irvin is bad, trust me) compels Jordan to be the #1 option as opposed to the #2 or #3 option. I love Jordanā€™s game, but after watching him extensively heā€™s probably not a #1 option type on an EYBL or college level if Iā€™m being honest about it. I think he could really flourish as a #2 guy at UM. We need a guy with NBA potential in order for guys like Jordan to play to their maximum potential.

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I think itā€™s fair to say that some of Pooleā€™s athletic limitations have been exposed. Heā€™s an excellent part of the future roster but I think the idea that an elite offense can be built around him as a centerpiece is starting to look far fetched (as he isnā€™t singlehandedly willing his below-average EYBL team to great heights). That said, a guy like Matthews, a hyper-athletic wing with some guard skills (i.e. not a purely off-ball wing) can compliment Poole in a big way. Part of the reason I am a huge Tillman fan is that I think X and Poole, to really flourish, will need all the athleticism around them that they can get. Guys like Cain, Matthews, Wilkes, and Tillman provide that. (A center like Williams would too, but I am trying to be realistic.) Just my opinion.

Generally speaking, I think the biggest transition from HS to college and college to NBA is the speed of the game, I.E. A big difference in athleticism. I think there is going to be a transition period for Jordan, but how long that takes is anyoneā€™s guess. For a guy like Jamal, the strength factor is going to be tough for him wherever he ends up. I donā€™t think the speed of the game is too fast for Jamal - but he tends to lose balance when he has to absorb contact when handling the ball. Adding 15-20 lbs of muscle will help Jamal tremendously IMO.

I think it is a bit harsh to say that Poole can never be a No. 1 option because his AAU team is bad. Is he going to come in and use 30% of Michiganā€™s possessions as a freshman? No.

But look at Mac Irvinā€™s roster, the No. 2 and 3 options are Justin Smith and Christian Negron ā€“ basically undersized PFs ā€“ and DaMontae Williams (a PG going to Illinois who doesnā€™t shoot much). Good EYBL teams are generally built around five-star big men or five-star PGs.

Heā€™s still a big time playmaking guard that can shoot from range and off the bounce. Thatā€™s an elite weapon, especially in this offense. Heā€™s not going full Devin Booker and turning into a five-star right now, but thatā€™s probably okay too. (FWIW Booker was in a similar spot and shot 33% from three on a crappy team)

I think adding Matthews would make adding someone like Donnie Tillman a lot tougher because that would be two guys that just arenā€™t shooting threats.

Booker was actually a fairly high-level athlete, though (although he was mostly a catch and shoot guy in UKā€™s platoon system, but he had very underrated hops). Compared to say, Booker, LeVert or Stauskas, Poole doesnā€™t have great explosiveness and he has very little verticality for a guy of his ranking. He can definitely knock down shots with the best of them, but I stand by the view that weā€™ll need plus athletes at the three and four to compliment plus shooters at the one and two.

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I mentioned it before, but the first thing I noticed about Jordan is his size - I donā€™t care what the sites list him at, heā€™s a legit 6ā€™5, and that will definitely help at UM. The difference between Poole and Nik is twofold - Nik had a far superior handle in HS and even though Nik was slow like a turtle, he still had superior verticality in HS in relation to Poole, which helped him become a decent finisher at UM. I still think #101 is a bit low for Poole, I think heā€™s somewhere in the 60-80 range after watching him live several times.

Yeah, honestly I think he would rate similarly to Nik out of HS which was right around that 70 range like you say (which is also where heā€™s ranked right now).

Slow like a turtle is a bit harshā€¦ I seem to remember Nik blowing by multiple opposing PGs only to drop a two-handed dunk on their centersā€™ heads.

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Iā€™m sorta getting a better shooting Zak Irvin vibe from whatā€™s being said in this discussion. I havenā€™t watched many of his highlights though so that could be way off.

A PG doesnā€™t need to be able to dunk to be the focal point of an offense. I know that is the first thing you look for on a reel, but come on now.

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I know this will be unpopular with some, but if Pooleā€™s college production is that of Irvin, I, for one, wonā€™t be disappointed. Zak has his flaws to be sure, but IMO, the biggest flaw is that people expected him to be a superstar based on his ranking and instead, heā€™s just a very good college player. If you take expectations out of the equation, youā€™ve got someone who scored over 400 points, retrieved over 150 points, and racked up over 100 assists while coming off summer back surgery. Does he take some bad shotsā€“yup. Does he commit some horrific turnoversā€“absolutely. Can he be maddeningly inconsistent and inefficientā€“sure. But with all that, heā€™s a perfectly good number 2 optionā€“heā€™s just not a number 1.

I donā€™t know MHoops - heā€™s more of a #3 option on a really good team IMO. Just doesnā€™t do anything well to be honest, with passing being the exception. Average to slightly above average in many things though

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