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Thursday, June 27, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Jordan Poole selected in first round by Golden State Warriors
BROOKLYN,
N.Y.
—
When
Jordan Poole declared for the NBA
Draft after just two seasons, he had
his fair share of detractors.
People said Poole was being
rash. That he was leaving too
early. That he would benefit from
another year in college, that he
was dooming himself to a career in
Europe or the G League.
On Thursday night, Poole took
the first step towards proving them
wrong. The Golden State Warriors
selected Poole with the 28th
pick in the draft. He’ll be playing
alongside Stephen Curry next
season, making nearly $2 million
on a guaranteed contract.
“I think it was just being able
just to trust myself, follow my
deams,” Poole said. “Just having
hope and faith. That’s all I’m going
to really say on that. Being able to
be in the position I’m in now, I feel
like I made the right decision.”
Poole is John Beilein’s last first-
round pick at Michigan, and by
getting into the first round, extends
Michigan’s streak to four years in a
row with a first-round pick. Ignas
Brazdeikis was also drafted, going
to the Knicks in the second round.
Charles Matthews slipped out of
the draft after suffering an ACL
tear during a workout.
At Michigan, Poole left a legacy
by hitting a game-
winning
shot
against Houston in
the second round
of March Madness
in
2018.
That
win
eventually
propelled
Michigan to the
Final
Four,
and
etched
Poole’s
name into program
lore.
In his second year with the
Wolverines,
Poole’s
play
was
marked by its inconsistency. He
shot 36.9 percent from 3-point
range, a key part of a team that set
a program record for consecutive
wins to start the season, but
that number dropped to 32.7
percent in conference play. In
big games, particularly the Big
Ten Tournament final against
Michigan State, Poole struggled,
and frustrated Beilein.
Any NBA team could have looked
at Poole and seen an inconsistent
gunner, or a gifted player who can
play with or without the ball, and
shoot it, too.
The
Warriors,
evidently, saw the
latter.
“It’ll
definitely
be amazing,” Poole
said
of
playing
alongside Stephen
Curry in Golden
State. “Being able
to know at the
same time we’re
out there doing the
same thing, and they’re definitely
going to teach me some stuff right
away and they’re definitely going
to invite me into the league.
“Being ready for all challenges,
but more than anything just
coming in ready to get to work and
be excited.”
ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
Fraisse promoted to assistant coach following Byron’s departure
After spending 15 months as
a volunteer assistant, Jerome
Fraisse has been named the
Michigan volleyball team’s third
full-time assistant coach since
2015.
The move comes in conjunction
with the departure of previous
assistant coach Sean Byron, who
agreed to become Marist’s new
head coach in April.
“We are really excited to add
(Fraisse) full time,” said head
coach Mark Rosen in a statement.
“He has a great skill set in terms
of
his
coaching
knowledge
working with the setters. His
personality and view of the game
match our staff really well and
makes him a great fit for our
program.”
As a volunteer member of the
staff in 2018, Fraisse crafted
drills for the team’s setters
and
developed
data-oriented
gameplans.
He
crunched
numbers and watched film on
Data Volley and VolleyMetrics
— two of college volleyball’s
popular analytics services —
to
prepare
the
Wolverines’
scouting reports. From a modern
analytical standpoint, Fraisse
understands the numbers that
go into running a successful
offense.
As Rosen alluded to, Fraisse
will
assume
Byron’s
former
role as the program’s setters
coach. He inherits one of the
Big Ten’s best setters in rising
senior MacKenzi
Welsh, who has
tallied
3,881
career assists and
an All-American
Honorable
Mention selection
during her career.
The promotion
marks
Fraisse’s
first
full-time
NCAA job at any
level. That’s not
for a lack of coaching experience,
though,
as
he
boasts
an
impressive overseas background.
Prior
to
arriving
in
Ann
Arbor last year, Fraisse spent 18
seasons coaching in France —
three as the men’s head coach at
Grenoble Volley University Club,
five as an assistant with L’Asul
Lyon Volleyball Club and 11
between L’Arago Sète Volleyball
Club, Volleyball Romans and
L’ES Meylan Volleyball Club.
In addition to his coaching
tenures
with
five
separate
clubs, Fraisse brings a wealth
of national team experience to
the Wolverines’ staff. While
coaching
for
L’Asul
Lyon
Volleyball Club, he worked under
former
Italian
national
team
head
coach
Silvano
Prandi
for five years. He
managed tryouts
for France’s U17
and U20 programs
in 2017 and 2007,
respectively, and
has
coaching
experience
in
Canada.
While coaching in France,
Fraisse spent time recruiting
European players interested
in
playing
volleyball
in
America. This could bode well
for Michigan’s international
recruiting efforts, and with
Byron gone, Rosen may not
hesitate to call upon Fraisse in
that regard.
As a player, Fraisse enjoyed
a three-year professional stint
with the Grenoble Volleyball
Club from 1997-2000. Though
he only saw time at middle
blocker
and
outside
hitter
during his playing days, his
20-plus seasons around the
game make him a good fit to
work with Michigan’s setters.
After losing Maddy Abbott
to graduation, Fraisse will
primarily work with Welsh,
rising
senior
Katerina
Rocafort
and
incoming
freshman Madison Dowd in
2019.
DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer
We are really
excited to add
(Fraisse) full
time ...
NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
Former Michigan guard Jordan Poole was drafted in the first round by the Warriors
... more than
anything just
coming in ready
to get to work ...
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
The Michigan volleyball team added Jerome Fraisse as a full-time assistant coach