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Jordan Poole is the son of Anthony Poole, an influential figure in the Golden State Warriors guard’s life. Poole grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his father, his mother Monet Poole, and his siblings.
Here’s what you need to know about Jordan Poole’s father Anthony Poole:
1. Anthony Poole Was Raised in Chicago & Played Football in High School & College, Where He Met His Wife
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Poole’s father is Anthony Poole, a former athlete whose gyms were a key part of the NBA star’s upbringing. Anthony Poole was raised in Chicago’s South Side, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, and he was a football player, first at the renowned Simeon Academy followed by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
While at the university, which was located west of Milwaukee, Anthony Poole worked as a security guard in the dorms. That’s where he met his future wife Monet Poole, a shy undergrad, the Athletic reported. The college football player was interested in several sports and after he and his new wife settled down in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, he began running Sunday afternoon basketball pickup games.
These Sunday pickup games at Anthony Poole’s gym were frequented by many grown men as well as his young son. Poole soaked in not only the skills of those around him but learned to stand up for himself and take his place on the court, developing the swagger he’s known for today.
2. Anthony Poole Is Married to Jordan Poole’s Mother Monet Poole, a Social Worker
Anthony Poole and Monet Poole, née Monet Jordan, met while they were both at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee but Poole’s father wasn’t the only athlete in the family. Monet Poole also played sports at her high school, Washington High School in Milwaukee. The couple has been married for over 20 years. Warriors star Poole, who was born on June 19, 1999, was named after his mother’s maiden name.
Monet Poole became a social worker who looked after severely developmentally challenged adults, the Athletic reported, describing her as “pragmatic and patient, reserved and refined.”
While the future Warriors star was practicing in his father’s gym, he credited some of his mother’s advice for helping him improve. He said the grown men he played with were often taunting him and definitely weren’t taking it easy on the small 8-year-old but he just soaked in all the lessons, he told Yahoo Sports.
“I was always a curious person and I was always with older people,” he added. “When you’re around them and around their situations, if there’s stuff that you don’t know, that you want to know, you just gotta ask. My mom would tell me all the time, ‘If you don’t know something, just ask. Why are you scared of asking?’”
3. Anthony Poole Pushed Jordan Poole to Improve & Said He Was Hard on His Son Because He Knew He Had the Skills
Anthony Poole had a special brand of tough love for his son and pushed him to improve and succeed in basketball starting at a very young age. That included making sure Poole was shooting only on regulation 10-feet rims with an NBA ball, Bleacher Report shared.
According to Anthony Poole, though, it wasn’t hard to push his son as Poole would always ask him if they could go to the gym to work out and they’d spend hours there, he told TMJ4.
Both father and son recalled one specific instance when Anthony Poole was brutally honest with the future NBA star. On the way home from a middle school game, Poole Sr. told his son, “You played terrible. If you want to just be like every other kid and just have fun, that’s fine. But if you want to play in the NBA, you won’t make it playing like you did this weekend. You’d be lucky to play overseas,” he recalled to Bleacher Report.
While sharing the story with NBC Sports, he said his goal in saying it was to motivate his son, “to get him pissed.” The next day, his father saw a note pinned to the door frame with Anthony Poole’s words written on it.
“You have talent and you MIGHT be able to go OVERSEAS,” it said. “Not the NBA. Overseas.” He shared with NBC Sports that the note was there for around a year and a half. The Warriors guard added, “Obviously, at the time, he didn’t think I’d be good enough to go to the league. I had to prove him wrong.”
However, while Anthony Poole admitted that he was sometimes hard on his son, he explained that it was only because he knew he had the skills. “It worked,” he concluded to NBC Sports. “You can see he’s worked at it. I’m proud to see that his dream has come true.”
It wasn’t only Anthony Poole who pushed his son to be great, though, as the future NBA star was also pushed by the nature of the competition at his father’s gym. By the time he was 12 years old, he’d convinced his father to be allowed to play in the Sunday evening pickup games with the adults, many of whom were former Division I college players who’d played overseas, he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
He said those men never made it easy for him or gave him a pass and he had to work for every basket. “I was physically not on the same level as they were, so I had to find ways to score,” he explained. “That kind of made me tough.” It not only made him tough but also gave him a kind of swagger as he fed off the chirping and trash-talking and gave it right back.
In fact, his father told the Chronicle that there was definitely some shoving and trash-talking, but shared, “Sometimes, guys got mad at Jordan because he was talking crap to them, too.”
4. Anthony Poole Was Set to Join the Police Department But Pursued a Career in UPS Instead & Jordan Poole Praised His Work Ethic
Poole’s father was set to join the Milwaukee Police Department, but his wife was worried about the dangers of policing and convinced him to stay with his job as a UPS driver, the Athletic reported. His LinkedIn profile states that he worked as a UPS driver for years before he was promoted to a supervisor and then manager.
Anthony Poole is also a AAU coach for Wisconsin Playground Elite, a team he created for his son, which became nationally recognized, according to Bleacher Report. Poole credited his father’s work ethic for inspiring his own, telling NBC Sports it was just something he’s had since he was young. “My parents worked really hard,” he said. “The people around me, my grandparents, they worked hard.”
In addition to his work ethic, Poole said he also got his unashamed uniqueness and individualism from his parents, who were always themselves no matter what. “I think that’s why I am who I am,” he told the Athletic. “They never changed to their setting. They never changed who they are. They were always themselves. It showed me how to just be who you are.”
5. Anthony Poole & His Son Are Very Close & Jordan Poole Thanked His Father & His Family When He Was Drafted
Poole and his dad are very close, and Anthony Poole told the San Francisco Chronicle that they often hung out together. He said he took his son with him wherever he went and they did everything from playing sports to watching sports to running errands together. Poole even attended his father’s fraternity meet-ups with him.
When he was drafted into the NBA, Poole thanked his father for his sacrifices, as well as his mother, sisters and his “brother figures.” “They made so many sacrifices and I’m just beyond blessed,” he said.
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Anthony Poole, Jordan Poole’s Father: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know