Miles Bridges, one of the top small forward recruits in the Class of 2016, wants a Kentucky offer. (Associated Press)
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Miles Bridges, a 6-foot-6 small forward from Flint, Mich., has narrowed his list of college options to Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa State, North Carolina and Kentucky. Thing is, those last two have so far not extended Miles an offer.
Sunday’s performance in his final game of Nike Elite Youth Basketball League’s weekend in Lexington might help with that. Bridges, rated the No. 7 player at his position and No. 27 overall prospect in 2016 by Scout.com, poured in 37 points on 14-of-24 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds in an overtime victory with Spartans coach Tom Izzo courtside to see it.
“I’ve been playing bad all weekend. Feels good to get one good game under my belt. First few games, I was trying to force it,” said Bridges, who admits he might’ve been pressing in an attempt to impress Wildcats coach John Calipari. “I like Kentucky. It’s a great program. They get people to the league. Coach Cal, he’s a great coach and it’s a great atmosphere.”
[brightcove video="4197681166001" /]Bridges visited UK for a game last season and marveled at the Rupp Arena experience, which he said is “just like an NBA atmosphere (and) it wasn’t even a big game.” He likes that Calipari sends more players to the pros than any other coach and is fine with waiting for a scholarship offer from the Cats.
“They say I play just like (fellow Michigan native and UK alum) James Young. They say I’ll fit in just like he did,” Bridges said. “I’m patient right now. I’ll probably just wait until after the summer (to pick a school). I think they’re just trying to figure out who they’re after.”
A Kentucky offer, though, would not guarantee anything with Bridges. Michigan State is the popular pick to land him, and Izzo was never far from him this weekend.
“They’re 45 minutes away from me and just a great program,” Bridges said. “I grew up watching them and just paying attention to them, their coaching staff, what they do and how I fit in.”
Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.
