Michigan Basketball: 3 NBA Draft takeaways for the Wolverines
The critics are now eating crow
Obviously, Jordan Poole had an up-and-down season for Michigan basketball during the 2018-19 campaign, however, when you watched him early in the year, he looked like a first-round pick.
Watch what Poole did against teams like North Carolina, South Carolina and Purdue and you will see why the Warriors took a chance on his scoring ability. He can light it up and he has the potential to be a force in the pick-and-roll.
I’ll admit, I didn’t expect him to go in the first round. I believed both players would get picked and one would get selected in the Top 50. Instead, they each went in the first 47 picks, as Poole went 28th and Brazdeikis went 47th to the Knicks.
We'd say @_iggy_braz fits well under the bright lights of NYC. 🌃
— Michigan On BTN (@MichiganOnBTN) June 21, 2019
Here's what the B1G Freshman of the Year brings to the @nyknicks and MSG: pic.twitter.com/dEg8L0adsA
For Poole, it’s hard to find a better landing spot. He gets to play under Steve Kerr and with Steph Curry. Even Draymond Green should help him become a better defender and with all the injuries in Golden State, if Poole can make shots consistently, he could get some run.
The Knicks are in rebuilding mode and if they work out some kind of sign-and-trade for Kevin Durant that will still be true, at least for this season. Dennis Smith Jr. and R.J. Barrett give New York some nice pieces and Iggy should have a chance to show what he can do.
Even if Brazdeikis spends some time in the G-League, Mike Miller, the Knicks coach in that league, is great at developing talent, winning coach of the year recently, so either way, it’s a great fit too.