Jordan Anthony Poole (born June 19, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Rufus King High School in Milwaukee and La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. He was a 2016 first team All-Wisconsin selection as a junior and a member of the 2017 Dick's National High School Championship winner as a senior. Poole then played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. At Michigan, he was a member of the 2017–18 team that won the 2018 Big Ten tournament and advanced to that season's national championship game.
Nicknamed "Poole Party", Poole was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft. He received assignments for two seasons in the G-League before becoming an integral part of the Warriors rotation starting in 2021. He led the NBA in free throw percentage for the 2021–22 NBA season and won an NBA championship with the Warriors the same season.
High school career
As a freshman at Rufus King High School in Wisconsin, Poole once made a three-point shot to tie a game in the closing seconds after coming off the bench. Poole visited Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Drake and Marquette as a blue chip high school basketball recruit. Then, he visited Michigan for the September 26 football game between the 2015 Wolverines and BYU, receiving an offer that weekend. He returned to campus on October 17 for the rivalry game against Michigan State. On October 23, 2015, four-star recruit Poole became the first commitment for the Class of 2017 after a home gym visit from head coach John Beilein and assistant coach LaVall Jordan and multiple Michigan campus visits. Poole had several competing offers including Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Memphis, Marquette, Virginia Tech and Auburn. At the time of his commitment, he was the 2nd-ranked overall prospect and the 1st-ranked shooting guard in the national class of 2017. As a junior, Poole was a 2016 WBCA All-State Boys Basketball first team selection.
On July 1, 2016, Poole announced that he would transfer from Rufus King to La Lumiere School in Indiana for his senior year, where he would experience a campus lifestyle, play a schedule with several ESPN broadcasts, and be teamed up with then-unsigned class of 2017 prospects Brian Bowen and Jeremiah Tilmon. By the time Poole signed his letter of intent to play college basketball for Michigan as part of a three-scholarship player incoming class with Isaiah Livers and Eli Brooks on November 11, 2016, he was the 90th-ranked overall prospect. Poole was a member of the 2017 Dick's National High School Champion La Lumiere team. In the Dick's National Championship game, Poole posted 13 points, three steals, three rebounds and four assists, and shot 3–7 on his three-point shots. The 13 points included a shot clock buzzer beater in the closing seconds of the third quarter. La Lumiere, which included 2017 McDonald's All-Americans Bowen and Jaren Jackson Jr., defeated perennial power Montverde Academy, who was led by Canadian sophomore R. J. Barrett. La Lumiere had lost the 2016 Dick National Championship game prior to Poole's arrival.
College career
Freshman season
On December 2, Michigan defeated Indiana 69–55 in its 2017–18 Big Ten conference season opener with Poole leading the way with a team- and then career-high 19 points in his Big Ten debut. On January 15, Michigan defeated Maryland 68–67. After trailing by 14 points in the first half and 10 points at halftime, Michigan was trailing by seven points in the second half when they made seven consecutive three-point shots, including three by Poole, whose 11 points made him one of only two double digit scorers for Michigan in the game. For the February 3 contest against Minnesota, the Maize Rage (Michigan's student section) held a "Poole party" in the stands, but Poole missed all four of his field goal attempts. Poole finished the regular season with three straight double digit scoring efforts, making nine of 12 three-point shots against (#8 AP Poll/#9 Coaches Poll) Ohio State on February 18, Penn State on February 21, and Maryland on February 24. On March 4, a victory over (#8 AP Poll/#8 Coaches Poll) Purdue gave Michigan its second consecutive Big Ten tournament championship, even though Poole slumped during the four-game run, missing all nine of his three-point shots.