The college basketball season has been slowed down by Hurricane Sandy, which affected thousands of people one way or another. People were evacuated from their home. In sports, it even postponed the New York City Marathon, which affected so many runners who trained hard for the meet. The marathoners practiced for months under miserable weather conditions for a marathon, which just didn’t happen.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg put a halt to this one. There were some negative reactions to the decision.
Before and even during practice time for the hoopsters, the cagers and coaches made preparations for press conferences and media days to talk to the press about the upcoming season. Various leagues, including the very popular Big East Conference conducted media sessions at various locations, including this one circuit at the New York Athletic Club, which hosted the coaches and players who represented their teams.
All the coaches were present. They brought with them the ones who would make an impact on the season. One of the cagers was Mike Poole, who enters his junior year after playing as a reserve coming off the bench during his first two seasons at Rutgers University, a member of the 15-team Big East Conference, which keeps growing each year..
The 6-5 Poole in his third year as a member of the Scarlet Knights is known for his defensive attributes and leadership on the court. He saw action for almost 22 minutes a game as a sophomore. He became a true star in New Jersey and thus made t he right choice.
A versatile and athletic performer, for he could see action as a forward or guard, he has a winning mentality and should see more action on the court than he did last year.
“My game is now solid this year,” said Poole, a sixth man on the roster for Rutgers during his past two years. “Now I’m ready to go into the starting rotation.
Poole came to Rutgers from St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, New Jersey where he was coached by the legendary Danny Hurley for three years, His team was nationally ranked during a period of time the cager‘s presence on the court.
His first year was spent at Manhattan’s Rice High School, located in the Harlem section of the borough. Rice has closed its doors. After playing at Rice, he transferred out and was a three-year starter at St. Benedict’s.
Poole could be an outstanding player and a future great one at Rutgers. He wants to lead the Scarlet Knights to its first winning season since 2005-2006.
“My goal is for my team to make it to the NCAA tournament, and for them to have a better season than we had last season,” Poole said.
