BRIDGES THE GAP
Villanova star has intangibles Knicks need to win again
During the Big East Tournament in March, eventual tourney and ultimate national champion Villanova used the Knicks locker room at Madison Square Garden. The situation was not lost on Villanova forward Mikal Bridges, who even then was seen by some as a possible Knicks draft pick.
“I love it here. We play here twice in the regular season and then the Big East Tournament. We play the most games here other than our home games,” Bridges said. “Great atmosphere, great venue. It’s cool to play on that court.”
Yeah, the Garden is a gym Bridges comfortably could call home.
Maybe Bridges will find himself playing at the Garden frequently in the future. Among numerous mock drafts, Bridges is the player overwhelmingly associated with the Knicks at No. 9.
“His length and athleticism,” St. John’s coach and Hall of Famer Chris Mullin said of Bridges, assessing his NBA attributes. “He’s just going to improve. His shot is there. ... From an NBA standpoint, he’s the best player in the conference.”
Where the Knicks land after their 29-53 season won’t be known until the NBA lottery in Chicago on Tuesday, when representatives from 14 teams descend with rabbits’ feet, lucky socks or incantations from the dark side to enhance luck.
The Knicks have an 81.34 percent chance of picking ninth, a 1.7 percent chance of getting the No. 1 slot and a 6.1 percent chance of landing a top-three pick. The Knicks have given indications of what they seek in the draft. Team president Steve Mills this past week provided a thumbnail.
“We need talent, we need athletic players,” Mills said. “The [draft] position will determine who we pick but in an ideal world, we’d like to get a wing player.”
Some are enamored of Alabama point guard Collin Sexton. Texas’ Mo Bamba, a Harlem-born center, has been compared to Utah’s Rudy Gobert defensively, but he is projected to be gone before nine.
Bridges checks all the boxes, including another Mills, general manager Scott Perry and new coach David Fizdale stressed as critical: Defense. Bridges, 6-foot-7, can guard multiple positions. You could do a heckuva lot worse defensively than a front line containing Kristaps Porzingis, currently rehabbing from ACL surgery, and Bridges. He’s a wing guy, can score and has a championship pedigree.
“We put him on the [opponent’s] best player. And he’s fine with that. He actually enjoys that,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said during the NCAA Tournament.
And Bridges’ game works on both ends.
“He’s got phenomenal length. He can shoot it a bit out to [the 3-point line]. Defensively, you like him obviously. He’s very ath- letic but doesn’t always show it. He’s going to have to be someone that continues to get stronger and bigger. But ultimately the guy can shoot it, put it on the floor,” said one collegiate scout for an NBA team.
One opposing NBA general manager liked Bridges — but did not go overboard.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good player. I just don’t see him as a star. I think he’ll be a solid rotation player and there’s nothing wrong with that,” the GM said.
“He could turn out to be one or the other,” the scout said regarding star or valued sub. “There’s a little risk that comes with him. He’s a good player, though. Definitely a good player.”