2B — December 10, 2018 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SportsMonday Another round of Harbaugh rumors M y grandfather called me last week. I’ll preface this by saying that my grandpa is not your typi- cal hot-take sports fan. I respect his opinions on sports as much as anybody I know. So in this case, I think he was probably just checking in and had a topic in mind he thought would make me laugh or at least give us something to talk about. He asked me if Jim Harbaugh was leaving Michigan. We had both seen the head- lines by that time, on ESPN and other platforms, that certain pundits were reporting that certain NFL teams were in talks with Harbaugh to pull him from the Wolverines and back into the ranks of professional football. I laughed and brushed it off, because the reporters I know on the Michigan beat, who would definitely know if Harbaugh was considering leaving Ann Arbor, had all but called the reports stupid. Apparently, the rumors, per- haps aided by the de-commit- ment of five-star safety Daxton Hill, were enough to make Har- baugh give a response. “This is a choreographed message that comes up at this time every year before signing day,” Harbaugh told ESPN this weekend. “It’s people spreading messages to further their own personal agenda. “But I’m on record right here, right now: I’m not going any- where. I’m staying at Michigan. We have big plans here, and there’s a lot we want to accom- plish.” On Sunday, he elaborated further when asked why he com- mented on the story at all. “To make a statement of it,” he said. “To go on record, and to not be asked any more after that by people who like to yap and ask questions.” Thinking back, though, the call from my grandpa wasn’t the first time I had gotten the question. A couple months ago, an edi- tor from a well-renowned news- paper called The Daily newsdesk asking for me. He was doing a story about Harbaugh, and he wanted the perspective of some- one on campus. Among the questions he asked was one about Harbaugh and whether or not students and fans were losing patience with him. I laughed then, too. If I remember cor- rectly, it was just after Michigan had lost to Notre Dame, so I understood that there were some questions about the state of the program and its lead- ership. Now, with the benefit of hind- sight, it seems ridiculous that there are and have been ques- tions if the Wol- verines want to keep Harbaugh. Michigan is in a far better place than it was when Harbaugh took over. The program was competing for a conference championship all season, until its hopes were snuffed out by Ohio State yet again. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel addressed that side of things Sunday. His sup- port has always been steadfast, so his statement should come as no surprise. “Jim is one of the greatest coaches (in foot- ball), college or pro, so I think it’s to his credit his name continually pops up,” Manuel said. “As I said before, when we think about bringing student- athletes here, we want the best, and we have the best coach. I just hope people understand, and particularly our recruits don’t get dissuaded because people put out these rumors which this man deserves because of his ability to coach. “... Every year as soon as there’s an opening, all of a sud- den his name’s mentioned that he’s not going to be here. He and I have a great relationship. We talked about this from the first year on. I have full faith in Jim, in the person he is and the leader he is of this team. I’m so happy he’s our coach. I look forward to him coaching, as I said before, until he retires from Michigan and ends his career here.” And, listen, I get impatience. But wanting better from the coach you have is much different than wanting a different coach altogether. It is okay to both expect the Wolverines to actually win a conference championship — or better — and want Harbaugh to stay on as head coach. Believe it or not, those two things are not mutually exclusive. Harbaugh does need to improve, and he is the first to admit it. Hence, the “there’s a lot we want to accomplish,” part of his quote to ESPN. But it seems like if you are going to bring up this neverend- ing question about Harbaugh’s permanence at Michigan, you have to answer two other ques- tions first. First: What gives anybody any indication that Harbaugh actu- ally wants to leave? Second: If the Wolverines did want him gone, who could they possibly get that would be bet- ter? If you can’t answer the first, spare me the waste of time it takes to prove any rumors false. And if you can’t answer the second, don’t bother pining for greener pastures. Persak can be reached at mdpers@umich.edu, on Twitter at @MikeDPersak or on Venmo at @Mike-Persak. EVAN AARON/Daily Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh dispelled rumors this weekend that he woud be leaving Michigan for the NFL after five-star safety Daxton Hill decommitted. MIKE PERSAK Poole finding consistency Last February, Crisler Center filled with bathing suits and pool noodles — a strange sight on a snowy mid-winter afternoon in Ann Arbor. The ‘Poole Party’ theme had been organized by the Maize Rage — Michigan’s courtside student section — to celebrate Jordan Poole, the team’s swaggering freshman guard. The freshman Poole wanted to give the crowd what they came to see. He came off the bench midway through the first half and immediately fired off two 3-point attempts. Both clanged iron. The rest of the game was no different. Poole attempted four threes, made none of them, and finished with zero points in 12 minutes. Saturday against South Carolina, the Maize Rage brought the ‘Poole Party’ theme back. With a year of experience under his belt, the sophomore Poole hit 8-of-12 field goal attempts en route to a career- high 26 points, as the Wolverines won 89-78. “I wasn’t really thinking about it,” Poole said of this year’s ‘Poole Party.’ “I think last year, I was thinking about it. … Being a freshman, I only played 11 minutes, I kinda wanted to go out there, because it was a Poole Party, and play excited.” Games like the Minnesota one weren’t unusual for Poole last year. He quickly became a fan favorite, often providing a spark off the bench, like he did in a 19-point game against Indiana or a 4-of-5 showing from the three against Ohio State. But other times, he was invisible, scoring less than six points in half of Michigan’s games. “Last year as a freshman, he’d have moments in which he didn’t look as good as he really was,” said South Carolina coach Frank Martin. “Cause he’d get wrapped up in the emotion of the game.” Earlier this season, it seemed as if Poole hadn’t changed. He totaled just 13 points over the Wolverines’ first three games. When it looked as if he busted his slump in a 22-point performance against George Washington, he followed up with four against Providence the next day. Since then, Poole has been the star that Michigan expected him to be coming into the season, hitting 17-of- 28 threes and scoring at least 14 points in five straight games. “I just feel like I’m letting the game come to me,” Poole said. “Taking the right shots but also being aggressive.” “… I feel like I was overthinking, ‘What’s a good shot, what’s a bad shot?’ So focused about assists to where I was passing up a lot of stuff. But now coach is giving me the green light to be aggressive. They feel like I’m one of the best shooters in the country.” That green light paid dividends early in the second half when the Gamecocks cut Michigan’s deficit to six. Poole pulled up and hit a three with a defender draped all over him. Then another one, followed by a fast-break dunk. He had effectively shut the door on South Carolina’s comeback hopes and rewarded his coach’s green light all in a two-minute stretch that exemplified everything he was anointed to be last season. As he jogged to Michigan’s huddle after his dunk forced Martin into a timeout, students hurled snorkels and beach towels into the air in jubilation. Somehow — on a freezing December day — that now seems normal. MEN’S BASKETBALL THEO MACKIE Daily Sports Writer ALEC COHEN/Daily Sophomore guard Jordan Poole hit 8-of-12 field goal attempts Saturday night. “They feel like I’m one of the best shooters in the country.” “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying at Michigan.” “We talked about this from the first year on.”