Each season, the culmination of the Outside the Huddle Top 50 player countdown is the naming of our annual First Five, the highest preseason honor for OTH basketball coverage.
The First Five traces its lineage back to The News-Sentinel’s years of presenting “Fabulous Five” teams of the area’s best five players in both boys and girls basketball. This player is part of our sixth season of naming First Five players.
No. 1 – Jordyn Poole, Snider
Joining Ayanna Patterson, Poole is now the second player in history to be named #1 in the Outside the Huddle Top 50 player countdown for girls basketball in back-to-back seasons. That makes Poole’s ranking of 6th before her sophomore season as her lowest ever and it is for every single good reason you can think of. Snider was so, so close to a state title opportunity last season and a lot of it had to do with the poise and smoothness that Poole brought to the court every night as she led the loaded Snider lineup, something that she will do again this year with a just as loaded Snider lineup.
During her Indiana Junior All-Star season, Poole averaged 16.7 points per game, being held out of double digit scoring just twice while scoring over 30 as many times. Poole added a team co-high four assists per contest and continued her high end diversity with 3.5 steals and 3.6 rebounds per contest. Poole’s first step is something tenacious and her offensive movement with the ball is beautiful to watch as she breaks down opposing defenses with an ease we haven’t seen from many guards in Northeast Indiana in recent memory.
Poole posted two double double last season: 13 points/10 rebounds opposite Bishop Luers and 10 points/10 steals against Northridge.
COACH’S QUOTE ON POOLE:
“Jordyn is the cog behind the machine. She’s how we go offensively. It’s great to see how she has matured throughout the years and it shows on and off the court. In my eyes she’s a front runner for Miss Basketball.” – Snider coach Reggie Tharp
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