Couch: It's easy to take Miles Bridges for granted
WASHINGTON – Miles Bridges stopped short of calling out his Michigan State teammates by name Friday in the locker room at the Verizon Center.
He came close.
“It was really surprising that some people on the team didn’t come ready to play,” he said after a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal loss to Minnesota.
It was an interesting comment, because it was directed at others. Not his usual style. And it had some fire behind it. Bridges sounded more irritated than he’s been in front of reporters at any point this season.
MSU needs that Miles Bridges the rest of the way. The more fire the better. The less he blends, the farther the Spartans have a chance to go.
Among Bridges’ greatest gifts as a star is his ability to blend — into the team, into the offense, into the culture.
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He treats alley-oop dunks like Barry Sanders treated touchdowns — absent bravado, like he’s been there before and will be there again. He’s so consistent at such a high level without any sign of pretentiousness that the greatest freshman on MSU’s campus in at least 39 years can be taken for granted.
Consider his week in Washington: Bridges averaged 17.5 points over two games, along with 8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocks. Not far off his season averages (16.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, etc.)
Compare it to Branden Dawson’s MVP week at the Big Ten tournament three years ago: 15.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, zero blocks. Dawson’s three-game run was celebrated. It stood out. It was appreciated. The story of the tournament. It did help that MSU won that tournament.
If anybody but Bridges does what he did, it’s a big deal. Bridges is less the story these days than he should be. We write more often about Nick Ward and Cassius Winston. It’s the curse of consistent greatness. It’s assumed.
“I know, it is,” MSU assistant coach Mike Garland said after Thursday’s win over Penn State, when Bridges scored 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds. “It’s like a normal player getting eight points and five rebounds. It’s just expected from him. And you know what, we should expect it from him.
“We know what we’ve got. We know that that’s just not a given. The kid’s special, real special. When you can just walk into the highest level of basketball other than the NBA and do what he’s doing, that’s special.”
Bridges, as a freshman player, is a combination of Dawson as a senior and Morris Peterson 18 years ago as a junior. There are some who saw Magic play as a freshman in 1977-78 and believe Bridges is better, though not as consequential to the program.
Amid a sometimes trying MSU season, the Spartan faithful should try to appreciate what they’re witnessing. Because even Bridges’ unmemorable performances are fairly remarkable. It’s why he won’t be around here long.
The question now is, can he leave a legacy at MSU beyond one incredible individual season, beyond highlight dunks and walk-on-air rebounds, beyond unparalleled freshman production since Magic, beyond setting a standard for low-maintenance for one-and-done college stars? Can he lead? Does he have enough game to carry MSU beyond its inconsistencies and enough bite to get the most out of his teammates?
MSU’s roster lacks a leading man among its veterans. Junior Tum Tum Nairn is a natural leader, but not enough of a force on the court to drive his teammates. It has to be Bridges. He cares enough. He’s been worried about MSU’s postseason fate since the Spartans lost at Duke in late November.
“Sometimes you need a jerk,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said after Friday’s loss. “That’s what I’m hoping Miles will turn into a little bit. That’s the area I’d like to see him grow and be a little more demanding of those things. Because once they get out on that court, we (the coaches) really are invisible.”
At the very least, Bridges’ commitment to MSU proved Izzo still owns his home state in recruiting and that he can still land big-time prospects. Bridges’ time at MSU allowed the Spartans’ to prolong their NCAA tournament streak. It’ll hit 20 years during tonight’s selection show. Without Bridges, the Spartans likely would have been a 5 seed in the NIT.
They’ll likely be a 10 seed in the NCAA tournament, instead. An underdog out of the gate next week, not expected to survive the first weekend. There are lots of variables that’ll decide whether MSU exceeds those expectations. None more significant than what it gets from Bridges and what he demands from his teammates.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.