Bridges seeks 2016 magic
As a redshirt freshman, Mikal Bridges certainly had better scoring games than the one he had in Villanova’s 65-59 victory over Kansas in the 2016 South Regional final at the KFC Yum Center.
There were the 13 points he scored in a win over St. John’s at Madison Square Garden or the 12 points he tallied in Villanova’s triumph over UNC-Asheville in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
For sheer impact, though, nothing tops the night Bridges had against the Jayhawks to get the Wildcats to the Final Four. The 6-7 swingman only scored six points and grabbed just two rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench, but it was his play on defense that kept Villanova’s season alive.
Bridges had five steals that night, which is still a career high. He’s matched it three times. No theft, though, was bigger than the one he made on sophomore guard Devonte’ Graham with 34 seconds to play in the game.
The Wildcats were nursing a 56-54 lead when Graham tried to get between Bridges and guard Ryan Arcidiacono. As Graham switched his dribble to his left,
Bridges poked the ball away toward teammate Josh Hart, who bent down and looked like a shortstop waiting for a routine ground ball.
The ball, though, never made it to Hart.
Graham dove and slid across the floor and grabbed the loose ball before it got to Hart. His momentum, though, carried him into Hart’s legs and Graham was called for his fifth foul.
Graham left with a teamhigh 17 points and his loss was huge. The Wildcats hit eight free throws in the final 33 seconds to seal the victory and continue a magical season that ended in a national championship.
“That’s what we do,” Bridges said. “We try to make plays.”
Bridges has been making plays for three years now. He hopes to make more than a few when the Wildcats (34-4) and Jayhawks (31-7) renew acquaintances Saturday night in the second game of a national semifinal doubleheader at the Alamodome (8:49 p.m., TBS).
His growth has been gradual, not meteoric. Bridges has gone from a skinny kid out of Great Valley High in Malvern who needed a redshirt year to grow physically as well as emotionally into one of the best players in the country, and the projected lottery pick he is now.
Yet Bridges remains as humble as he was when he arrived on campus four years ago. A perfect example came Tuesday in practice. Bridges was on the first, or blue team and missed a rebound. Villanova coach Jay Wright quickly dispatched Bridges to the second team.
Wright readily admitted that he normally wouldn’t do that to his best player, but Bridges is different. “He’s elite,” Wright said. Bridges quickly complied, flipping his reversible practice jersey from blue to white.
“Obviously, you want to play with the starters,” Bridges said. “At the end of the day, though, it’s better for you and better for the team.”
It is that team-first approach, and a willingness to put in the work, that allowed Bridges to develop into the player he is.
Wright and the staff recognized it when they recruited Bridges. They thought, with some work, he could develop into a pro. The coaches his staff amended that assessment by the end of Bridges’ freshman season.
“We thought, if he continues at this pace, he could be a first-round pick,” Wright said.
Bridges pooh-poohs all the draft talk. In his mind, that’s something for a later date. He even plays down all the accolades he has received this season. That’s for after the season, when he can look back and reflect.
“It’s nice to hear your name out there,” Bridges said. “It’s nice to be recognized, but there are more important things right now.”
His focus is leading Villanova to a second national title in three years and as Bridges has proven over the years, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal.
“We played a game this year in the Bahamas against Tennessee,” Wright recalled. “We were down 14 at halftime. And unbeknownst to me, he got the team together after I talked to them at halftime and said, ‘hey, you guys, Jalen (Brunson) and Phil (Booth), you guys go out and get buckets. I got this. I got the rebounds, I got the defense. I got this.’
“So that’s what he’s done his whole career and he’s developed into a complete player. In the Alabama game, we needed him to score in the second half, he scored. Whatever the team needs, he’s really unselfish that way but talented enough to do anything.”
Added Bridges, in typical style, “The team always comes first. Nothing beats winning.”