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Miles Bridges’ return primes Michigan State for a Final Four run

By Chris Stone

Mar 9, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) dunks the ball as Penn State Nittany Lions guard Josh Reaves (23) looks on in the first half during the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Verizon Center. The Spartans won 78-51. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) dunks the ball as Penn State Nittany Lions guard Josh Reaves (23) looks on in the first half during the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Verizon Center. The Spartans won 78-51. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan State should be one of the top teams in the country with Miles Bridges back in the fold

Miles Bridges’ freshman season at Michigan State didn’t go according to plan by just about every measure. Before the season even started, the Spartans lost a pair of big men, Gavin Schilling and Ben Carter, to what would be season-ending injuries. That forced head coach Tom Izzo to embrace a small ball lineup that featured Bridges at power forward and thrust fellow freshman Nick Ward into a starting role.

While both Bridges and Ward had impressive individual seasons, Michigan State fell short of expectations. The Spartans stumbled into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed. They managed a first round win over No. 8 Miami (FL) before being trounced by No. 1 Kansas, 90-70. The ending didn’t seem to sit well with Bridges.

“I want to finish business here. I want to stay,” the 19-year old said on Thursday evening as he announced his plans to return for his sophomore season in East Lansing.

It’s a surprising move given that Bridges was projected as a lottery pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, but it’s also a move that solidifies Michigan State as one of the top teams in the country and a Final Four favorite for the 2017-18 season.

The Flint, MI native was incredibly productive in his freshman campaign for the Spartans. In 32.0 minutes per game, he averaged 16.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks. Bridges was incredibly effective playing in a small ball power forward role because most defenders simply couldn’t match his quickness and physicality.

On a team that lacked a true offensive creator, Bridges became the go-to option. He accounted for 43.8 percent of Michigan State’s total offensive possessions that ended in isolations, averaging 0.962 points per possession (80th percentile) on those trips, per Synergy Sports.

Defensively, his versatility was important. Bridges has the strength to hold his position against bigger players in the post and the quickness to guard smaller ones on the perimeter. His 4.9 percent block rate was the second highest on the team and he led the roster with a 23.0 defensive rebound rate. With another year of seasoning under Izzo, nearly all of those skills should improve.

Bridges can’t do it alone, though, and he’ll need his teammates to make improvements, too. While Michigan State’s defense was quite good last season, finishing ranked No. 38 in adjusted efficiency, per KenPom, its offense sputtered. Sure, the Spartans shot it well (54.0 effective field goal percentage), but they turned the ball over on 20 percent of their possessions and finished the season ranked No. 304 out of 351 teams in Division I in offensive turnover rate. Given his talent and ability to distribute, much of the burden for improvement will fall on Cassius Winston, a rising sophomore who posted a 46.7 percent assist rate, but turned it over on 26.4 percent of possessions.

Bridges and Winston were both part of the Spartans’ 2016 recruiting class and their returns — alongside Ward and Joshua Langford —  will give Izzo one of the deepest rosters in the country next season. Izzo will also get Schilling back for a fifth year as the school awaits word on Carter’s petition for a sixth year of eligibility. Michigan State will also add five-star recruit Jaren Jackson, a 6-foot-10 big man who will give Izzo plenty of options in the frontcourt.

That will pose some interesting questions for the head coach who has traditionally played with two bigs, but saw Bridges succeed in the power forward role last season. Too much talent, of course, is a good problem to have.

It will be the potential lottery pick who surprisingly opted to return to school on Thursday night who will be the glue that binds it all together. Whether he plays as the small forward or the power forward, Bridges will be Michigan State’s best offensive threat, his versatility on defense will still be there and he’ll have a full offseason of coaching from one of the best coaches in the game. Put it all together and it’s easy to understand why the Spartans might be destined for another Final Four.