Miles Bridges passed up on a certain lottery selection last season. After returning for his sophomore season, how should Bridges be viewed as a 2018 NBA Draft prospect?
When Miles Bridges elected to play another year of college basketball, it seemed to be a peculiar decision. Bridges was once a five-star prospect in the 2016 recruiting class and was ranked directly behind Markelle Fultz and De’Aaron Fox, both of whom were top-five selections in the 2017 NBA Draft.
In this article from Sports Illustrated, Bridges spoke on his decision to return to Michigan State. He comes off as an extremely humble and down-to-earth kid, talking about the wonderful relationships he has made with his teammates, chasing NCAA championships and not wanting to play the game for money.
While Miles was unable to win a championship after an early second round NCAA Tournament exit, his season attempted to settle the main issue scouts had for Bridges last season. Was his college shooting percentage real? Bridges came back and while his 3-point percentage dipped, his free throw percentage drastically improved, along with his assist and turnover numbers.
Unfortunately, the sophomore was played out of position throughout most of the season. With Tom Izzo insisting on rolling with the two-big lineup of Nick Ward and Jaren Jackson Jr, Bridges was left to mainly play on the wing, and not in the 4 role where he did his freshman year.
Bridges is an extremely tough scout, because it’s difficult to project him to a position that he rarely played this season. However, he still will be an almost guaranteed lottery selection on June 21. Here’s a breakdown on Miles Bridges’ game as a 2018 NBA Draft prospect, listing his strengths, weaknesses and overall outlook.