This was back in December, right after Villanova had put the final touches on its 88-72 victory over Gonzaga at the Garden, when Wildcats head coach Jay Wright was asked if Mikal Bridges’ 28-point, six-rebound, two block performance would sufficiently serve as the junior’s national Coming Out Party.
It was the first season, after all, in which Bridges could finally step out of the rather daunting shadows cast by former Wildcats stars Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins. Wright pondered the question for a moment and then delivered his answer.
“That’s usually how stuff happens. You’re on a national stage and you have a great game and people start talking about you and following you,” Wright said.
Two months later people are still talking about and following the Villanova wunderkind who has used the past season and change to transform himself from obscure understudy to a starring role on the Main LIne. (OK, maybe a co-starring role with Jalen Brunson, but you get the idea).
Bridges, who seems to prefer to talk about anything other than himself, got his big break at the unfortunate cost of teammate Phil Booth last season. The lanky Bridges was ticketed for a sixth man role to start the season before Booth went down in November with a knee injury, thrusting Bridges into a starting gig. He responded by averaging a modest 9.8 points a game and 4.6 rebounds for a Wildcats team that ultimately won the BIG EAST regular season title for a fourth straight season, the conference tournament crown and logged 32 victories in all on the season. He was also named one of the three BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year picks, joining former teammate Hart and Creighton’s Khyri Thomas.
This year the increase in his production has jumped dramatically as he enters Wednesday night’s game versus DePaul averaging 16.8 points (tied for ninth in the BIG EAST) and 5.5 rebounds (tied for 15th) while playing a brand of no-nonsense defense that makes Bridges a valuable commodity on both ends of the floor for the Wildcats.
“I put in a lot of work,” said Bridges, the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week after his 25-point performance at Xavier last Saturday. “I just finished working right before I started talking to you. I just keep working and I just try to be the best player I can be.”
So Mikal, was that Gonzaga game at the Garden, when your tomahawk jam was followed up by a ferocious block on the other end of the floor in the span of only seconds, the day you felt people knew who you were?
“That’s what people say but I’m not really sure,” Bridges said. “I was just out there playing and I guess a lot of people watched because it was on ESPN.”
Told you he didn’t like talking about himself much.
Then how about this? You went from a role player before the start of last season into a player who is not only one of the best in the country, but one that is regularly mentioned in various mock drafts as a lottery pick in the NBA Draft this coming June. What do you think of that?
“I don’t really pay too much attention to that,” Bridges said. “I just want to be the best player I can be, the best teammate I can be.”
You don’t get much more than that from Bridges, a team-first guy who would rather discuss the “Villanova Way” and not get too caught up in the ebbs and flows of a season.
Like last Saturday’s epic matchup with Xavier, a battle of two Top 5 teams with the Musketeers intent on ending Villanova’s four-year streak as regular season conference champs. It was a must-see battle between two conference heavyweights. And when Bridges answered the bell by dropping 25 points on the Musketeers to help fuel the Wildcats’ 95-79 win at a frenzied Cintas Center, it surely was Villanova’s biggest win of the season. Right?
“It was just the biggest win for us because it was our next game,” Bridges said. “The next game we play (vs. DePaul Wednesday night), that’s going to be our next biggest game. We just take it game by game and try to get better every day in practice and prepare for our next game.”
You’ll never get any bulletin board material from Bridges. But he did perk up a little when asked about his defense, a part of his game that has frustrated many an opponent with his seven-foot wingspan and all.
“I take a lot of pride in my defense,” Bridges said. “I love it and I’m not going to stop trying to get better at it. I get challenged every day in practice from my coaches and teammates.”
Bridges doesn’t care much to talk about what’s down the line, either, whether it’s next week or next month. He prefers to stay in the now. So when he was asked if, the Wildcats talk much about going for that fifth consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title, well, what do you think Mikal had to say about that?
“No, we don’t really talk about it,” Bridges said. “We just want to be the best Villanova team we can be at the end of the day.”
Ok then.
Villanova heads into its game against DePaul toting a 24-3 record, an 11-3 mark in the BIG EAST and is just a half game behind first-place Xavier in the standings. If the Wildcats win out in their final four games - vs. DePaul, at Creighton, at Seton Hall and vs. Georgetown - Villanova will have that fifth straight title as it owns the tiebreaker with Xavier. And if they do pull it off, you can bet Bridges will play a major part in it, whether he talks about it or not.
“He just knows it’s his turn and he’s ready for it,” Wright said of Bridges. “He’s worked hard to improve his game. He’s ready mentally and he’s ready skill-wise.”