The player so often in front of the camera in America was behind it in Spain.
A Nikon DSLR camera hung from Jordan Poole's neck as the Michigan men's basketball team toured Madrid and Barcelona in August. At La Sagrada Familia, at two of the world's most famous soccer stadiums, in the middle of the city and on the Mediterranean Sea, there was Poole lifting his lens and snapping photographs.
"I wish we could take mental images but we can't," the sophomore said. "So I just take as many pictures as I can."
A couple of weeks before the team left on Aug. 17, Poole's mom visited him in Ann Arbor. Per his request, she brought her camera. She'd been out of the country a few times and taken photos she'd later show to her son. But she'd never been to Spain, and now Poole, on his first trip abroad, wanted to return the favor.
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Like many of his teammates, he did not purchase an international data plan for his cell phone. And while Wi-Fi was available in the hotels and other places, the team was busy touring and playing games. Factor in the seven-hour time difference between Spain and Poole's hometown in Milwaukee, and it wasn't possible for him to keep in touch with his mom at every stop on the trip.
Day 6 came & went in a flash!
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) August 23, 2018
We started the day with a tour of @FCBarcelona stadium -- @CampNou_IG and ended with our game vs. KK Mega Bemax
D6 🇪🇸 Trip ➡️ https://t.co/Wbd5tHxM04
More 📷 on 〽️🏀 Facebook & Instagram, check those out as well!#VamosAzul
〽️🏀 in 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/SeaalYuILs
Indeed, the days rolled together. The team toured Madrid upon arrival; took a bus trip to Toledo; attended a Real Madrid soccer game one night and toured the stadium the next morning; rode a train to Barcelona and visited the major sights there, including F.C. Barcelona's stadium and Gaudi's famed church; went on a Catamaran cruise; and played three basketball games, all over eight consecutive days in Spain. The team returned home Aug. 26.
"It's really so much at once," Poole said during one of the stops on the tour. "It would be hard to remember everything."
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The photos will make it impossible to forget.
Poole experimented with the camera's settings back in Ann Arbor and it appeared to pay off. He identifies himself as "a huge scenery guy," and Spain, with its vistas and architecture, does not disappoint there.
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"With a phone you can take as many pictures as you want and it's good quality, but it kind of just stays in your phone." Poole's plan with his photos is to move them to his laptop, identify the best, and have them printed.
We’re on a boat! ⚓️⛵️#VamosAzul
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) August 24, 2018
〽️🏀 in 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/cfzJcDZ4aJ
His mom is a scrapbooker, and he'll be giving her plenty of material to work with. He will keep some for himself in a notebook.
About 10 months ago, Poole first caught the eye of college basketball media members with his theatrical bench celebrations. It wasn't long before he was reveling in his own successes. And of course there was the legs-splayed, buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the NCAA Tournament and subsequent dash around the court.
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We know Poole can hit the shot. It appears he can capture one too.
This article is written by Andrew Kahn from MLive.com, Walker, Mich. and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.
