Big Ten Basketball: Top Players from the Conference in the 2018 NBA Draft

Everyone knew this was coming. Miles Bridges was very highly thought of last year so it was a surprise that he stayed. But he and the other three he came in wanted to make a run deep into the NCAA Tournament. Both years however turned into first weekend exits and Bridges will be going pro.

Bridges is the true definition of a tweener. He rebounds the ball like a forward and his build is close to what a front court player would look like at the next level. Obviously though Bridges is going to fall into many mismatches wherever he plays. His ball handling is so up and down. He’s definitely capable of controlling the ball to be a three, but his turnovers were a little out of hand at times.

It’s nice to see that his points per game has been consistently great in both seasons. It’s hard to believe that his scoring production only went up by .2, his rebounds fell by almost one per game and he shot worse from the field. His three-pointers did go up by 15 and his assists per game went up by .6.

There’s no question that Bridges is going to be a lottery pick. I don’t disagree with that or a team’s decision to take the former Spartans star in the top-15. I will however not be surprised if it takes him a little while before he’s a regular. John Ryan got it right by saying he’s a high risk, high reward kind of player.