Michigan freshman shooting guard Jordan Poole helped send Sister Jean's Loyola team packing, but had kind words in meeting her after the game.
"I'm a big fan of you guys," Poole said in shaking Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt's hand on his way to the interview room.
Sister Jean, for those who haven't been paying attention the last few weeks, is the 98-year-old nun who has traveled with the Ramblers and received an incredible amount of media attention for her basketball knowledge and enthusiasm.
"She had their back the entire time," Poole said. "Everybody talks about them being the Cinderella story, and she was getting a lot of attention. But being able to build a fan base how she did, and being able to have Loyola have so many fans out here and travel well ... I just thought the entire concept and everything that she brought to the table, and being able to have such a big impact on the team, being in a situation like this, I thought it was amazing.
"The kids don't really get to live in opportunities like this, so having those guys being able to do it and her being behind their back, I thought that was pretty cool."
The Wolverines made a second half run with Poole and fellow frosh Isaiah Livers on the floor together. Poole was able to drive and finish when his teammates couldn't, ending up with seven points despite missing three triples that were just off.
"The Drip Boys are full of swag. That's what they call themselves," redshirt sophomore Charles Matthews said of Livers and Poole, who are close friends. "They bring instant energy, especially this kid here [Poole]. This is my roommate, so I've got my hands tied with him the whole trip long.
"But he worked so hard on his game. I see him night in night out, the stress he brings to himself because he cares so much. But I'm just happy to see him perform so well on the big stage, the way he did."
Poole said Friday he knew his time would come again if he remained patient.
"I just tried to come in and provide a spark," he said. "It was a little bit hard for us to get open looks. But being able to be solid — and Coach [John Beilein] preaches it all the time — and being able to just run all the right plays and everything started to open up. But [it was] also bringing positive energy on the offensive side and defensive side."
They needed every bit of it with senior shooting guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman struggling to a 2-for-11 shooting night.
"Muhammad just wasn't himself. I think he was 0-for-7 in the first half. He missed some wide-open shots," Beilein said. "I know one guy that would want to take those shots and that was Jordan Poole. And Duncan as well. I just said if he's not making these shots right now, he's not going to make them as the game goes on. So I felt both of them just needed a little bit of rest.
"And then when we started to turn things ... I kept going to my assistants, saying, 'you want to go back with him?' They said, no, the young boys are getting it done, because they're just growing defensively. They can't even come close to understanding what the upperclassmen are doing, but they still got it done, and it was great."
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