Poole Party a Big Splash as Jordan, Isaiah Light it Up From Behind the Arc
12/8/2018 6:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Poole Party began long before its honoree, Jordan Poole, lit up South Carolina for a career-high 26 points with an assortment of four three-pointers, dunks, free throws and shake-and-bake moves.
The University of Michigan students line up for games in the freezing cold outside Crisler Center before being granted admittance into the Maize Rage sections just off the floor. The Poole Party bunch inhabits most of the three sections behind the Wolverine bench and operations area.
There's the guy with the inflatable pink flamingo standing next to the guy with the coiled flamingo on his head. There are girls with bikinis over their maize T-shirts and wearing hula skirts. And there are many donning Hawaiian shirts, leis and or shades. Oh, and there's the guy wearing a bikini, sans T-shirt.
They all cheer wildly for their main man, who entertained them throughout the Wolverines' 89-78 win on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 8) by continuing to show more and more of his game. Poole, averaging 20 points over his last four games, is proving there is so much more to his game than that unforgettable game-winner at the buzzer against Houston in last year's NCAA Tournament.
There's plenty of flash where Poole is concerned, and he injects plenty of splash into the Poole Parties. But there's substance to his game this year, too. He added five rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block against the Gamecocks. And there's much stronger defense, too.
Wolverines head coach John Beilein said that's one of the biggest differences in Poole, and why he's now able to play 36 minutes in a game as he did Saturday. He's also learned to let the game come to him on offense, no longer rushing shots because he realized he wouldn't be on the court all that much in averaging 12.2 minutes last season.
"I think that he's playing at a much better pace right now," said Beilein. "He'll get a little O.C. -- outta control sometimes. But for the most part, his pace is really good right now, and he's been able to make big shots and it's been so helpful for us."
Poole works hard on his shot, as well as improving every facet of his game. During the summer and after practices, he plays a three-point shooting game with his roommate and close friend, Isaiah Livers, where they either shoot 100 from behind the line or shoot until one of them makes 100.
"Isaiah's like my brother," said Poole. "And we're always trying to get the competitive edge from the brother standpoint. It's extremely competitive for bragging rights. We let each other hear it the whole way through our drills. So, after practice and during the summer, we always did shooting drills and more shooting drills.
"We'll do like five spot threes, five drifts and then we'll do five step-backs before five runaways. They're all game shots, and we usually shoot 100. It really helped Isaiah's confidence and his numbers started to increase drastically."
It's paid dividends for both of them. They rank 1-2 in three-pointers made (Poole 23, Livers 16) and three-point shooting percentage (Livers .516, Poole .469) for Michigan players who've taken more than one such shot. Livers shot .362 behind the arc last year with 21 for the entire season.
"To compete with someone like Isaiah makes me better, too," said Poole. "That brings out the fire in both of us. I usually make 78 to 85 of the 100. I think he's only beaten me once and it was my one shot. I had a bad day with 75 and he had a great day with 76. Today, in the game we were tied, hah-hah."
In the postgame locker room, Beilein told his players: "We got eight threes out of the roommates!"
Livers said, "That was special, Coach saying that."
Poole
Both went 4-for-7 from behind the arc, and it was one more than Livers (who finished with 12 points) had ever made as a Wolverine, and one under the career-high Poole had one week ago against Purdue.
However, Poole also works hard on his all-around game and conditioning with Jon Sanderson at his Camp Sanderson gatherings where pain brings gain.
"I think shot selection is huge," said Poole, when asked for his greatest area of improvement. He's gone from .429 field-goal accuracy last year to .516 for a 10-percent improvement after 10 games.
He's also a better ball-handler, adding that he aims to "take some of the weight off the shoulders" of point guard Zavier Simpson. Poole's favorite play against South Carolina came when he beat his man off the dribble and fired a quick pass to center Jon Teske for a two-handed slam dunk.
The jab-step Poole employs is the key to his ability to get past his man with a burst of speed in virtually any situation.
"I really started to develop that in my sophomore year of high school," said Poole, who played at Milwaukee King before transferring to La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. "I always played with older kids who were bigger, stronger, faster. I had to find a way to consistently get my shot off. The jab-step is something that really started to work, and created that space for me to get the shot off."
If that jab-step doesn't work, something will.
"It's rare that you see a guy make more than just two moves," said Poole. "You can defend him on the first move and defend him on the second move, but usually you'll go past him (on the third move). And, as a defender, I know it's hard to defend a guy who comes at you with just two moves. That's when I'm able to attack downhill on a defender.
"It also helps that I can shoot the three, because they try to guard me out behind the line and get in a position where my first step is going to be quick enough to get to the basket."
Poole put on quite a show, and all of this sent the guys and girls in bikinis and fellow students wearing shades and looking like the Beach Boys into a frenzy.
"I think last year I was one of the first people to really interact with the Maize Rage and was giving them high-fives," said Poole. "I've got a last name that you can theme off of, and I think the 'Poole Party' is pretty cool. Last year, at the Minnesota game, I didn't do much for the party. But this year, I did.
"We've got to have one of the best student sections in the country. I like the guys with the blow-up things (the flamingoes)."
Livers
Poole shares an East Quad dorm room with Livers, who while standing near Poole before postgame interviews asked his roomie to reveal what their birthday gift exchange back in the summer was like.
"He got me a 'Rick and Morty' backpack," Poole said of Livers' gift from the Comedy Central show. "Isaiah asked me to get him a $350 (Nintendo) Switch, but I didn't get that. I'm doubling up on him for Christmas, though.
"What did I get him for his birthday?"
Poole paused and Livers grinned before answering, "He got me popcorn."
They laughed and Poole noted, "It was gourmet popcorn. It wasn't just any popcorn!"
Poole and Livers also were selected "Best Bromance" by teammates in a taped bit shown during a timeout on the video scoreboards. They slapped low-fives and smiled at one another when that was mentioned. And when they entered the media interview area, rather than splitting off as players normally do, they stayed together, which also offered a sampling of how they play off one another verbally.
Livers was asked what the Maize Rage could create to rival the Poole Party in his honor.
Poole quickly answered: "Liverpool would be cool. Liverpool has a soccer team."
Liverspool?
Hey, why not? These No. 5-ranked Wolverines are 10-0, riding high, working hard and having fun. The roomies from East Quad are great examples of that.
