Michigan State Basketball: Miles Bridges’ return makes Michigan State top five team in 2017-18

Michigan State basketball will not only be the favorite to win the Big Ten regular season title, but the favorite to cut down the nets in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

Despite his previously earned five-stars coming out of high school and his outstanding freshman season in which he shouldered the load for a young Michigan State team, 6’7″ forward Miles Bridges announced that he is set to return to Sparty for his sophomore year of college.

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Agents, Tom Izzo, Bridges’ family and Michigan State NBA alumni were all the youngster advice to turn pro (according to The Vertical), but the rising sophomore decided there was unfinished business left in East Lansing.

Bridges was projected to be a lottery pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and at the very least, would’ve been selected late in the first round, where he still would’ve received a guaranteed contract.

Instead, Bridges is returning to Michigan State where he will have an extra year to develop his game.

Michigan State Spartans Basketball

This is surely a surprising move but you have to credit Bridges for sticking to his gun and passing up the opportunity for millions of dollars to continue his quest for a Big Ten title and a coveted National Championship.

Bridges is from Flint, Michigan, so the chance to build a legacy could’ve been one of the main reasons he opted for the “unpopular” decision. On the other hand, the 2018 NBA Draft is much thinner than the 2017 Draft and Bridges will play more small forward with Michigan State this upcoming year, the position he will likely find a home at when he is in the NBA a year from now.

And it’s not a bad consolation that MSU is likely to be one of the top teams in the country.

The Spartans were a top 25 team even without the services of Bridges, but with the rising sophomore in the fold, Michigan State is a top five team.

Due to injuries and inexperience, Bridges had to carry the load for most of this past season. He guided the Spartans to the second round of the NCAA Tournament (and gave Kansas a scare in the first 20 minutes), but it wasn’t about the results, it was more about the experience. While Bridges will be the heart-and-soul of Michigan State’s team and could be a heavy Preseason Player of the Year candidate, defenses won’t be able to solely focus on him.

Bridges will have to still create shots, distribute, rebound and be versatile on defense like he did in 2016-17, but he will have more help and Michigan State will have more overall depth. Add in the fact that Sparty will have more experience, and there’s no doubt this team is in the mix, along with Louisville, Duke, Arizona, and others, as the current favorite to win it all in 2018.

Just look at the starting lineup that will likely consist of developing point guard Cassius Winston, shooter and scorer Joshua Langford, Bridges, versatile and athletic freshman Jaren Jackson Jr., and bruiser Nick Ward. But that’s not all, the Spartans will bring Matt McQuaid, a hopefully healthy Gavin Schilling, Kyle Ahrens, Lourawls ‘Tum Tum’ Nairn, Kenny Goins and four-star power forward Xavier Tillman off the bench.

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They have balance, size, experience and a superstar in Bridges. And oh, don’t forget who is roaming the sidelines and coaching these guys up, one of the greatest of all-time. So, yeah, this is a game changer in college basketball; one that we will look back on 12 months from now and say ‘this altered the landscape of the season.’