Mikal Bridges is the two-way monster fueling Villanova and moving up NBA draft boards

Mikal Bridges had just made the type of play that freezes the entire gym on contact. He deserved to soak in the moment for a few beats, to flex or pound his chest or point at his teammates on the bench.

That’s not what Bridges did after slicing through the Gonzaga defense and extending his right arm for a Space Jam-style dunk on multiple defenders. Instead, Bridges sprinted down the court, pointed out assignments for his teammates, and made a late switch onto the ball handler before blocking a shot at the rim.

This was Bridges’ game in all its glory, the length, the athleticism, the selflessness on full display under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. Bridges had spent four years slowly building up to this moment when his star turn would be crystallized for all to see, and now it had happened.

Bridges entered Villanova as the No. 82 recruit in the class of 2014, per ESPN. When he arrived on campus, he was promptly hit with a redshirt. He was a supersub on the Wildcats’ national title team in 2016 and role player last season behind veterans like Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins.

Now? Now Mikal Bridges is the co-star alongside Jalen Brunson for one of the best teams in the country. He’s a two-way superstar who plays frantic, lockdown defense and knocks down 51 percent of his threes. He’s also emerging into a likely NBA lottery pick.

Patience has paid off for Bridges. This is what makes him one of the best players in college basketball.

If you accept that BPM is perhaps the best all-in-one metric to evaluate an individual’s contributions in college basketball, then Bridges is currently in the midst of a historic season.

That’s the list of players who have posted a BPM over 16.0 while scoring at least 100 points in a season since 2010-11. Two of those players (Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Davis) went No. 1 overall in the NBA draft and another (Victor Oladipo) went with the second pick. Everyone but Sindarius Thornwell was a first-round pick, and he was taken in the second round.

Look at Bridges. He’s having a better season than any of these other amazing seasons by a wide, wide margin.

It’s not just BPM. Bridges is also leading the country in win shares, he’s seventh in PER (33.4), and he’s among the leaders in stats like offensive box plus-minus and defensive win shares. He’s done all of this while his usage rate has risen from 15 percent to 22 percent since last season.

Long story short: With the biggest workload of his career, Bridges has been better and more efficient than ever.

With apologies to Creighton’s Khyri Thomas and West Virginia’s Jevon Carter, Bridges is the best perimeter defender in college basketball. He has the quick feet to stick with guards, the timing and mentality to fight bigger, stronger frontcourt players and the length to smother anyone.

It starts with those long arms for Bridges. He deploys his 7’1 wingspan like a weapon, seemingly taking away half the court at a time like an All-Pro cornerback. He can play at the top of Villanova’s 1-2-1 press or down low in its zone as a rim protector. He has the complete package of instincts, length, quickness, and the desire to simply take the ball away.

Just look at how disruptive he is in this video put together by our friend J.Z. Mazlish over at The Stepien (read his whole article, it’s great):

Here’s an example of his help defense. Watch as Bridges fights over a ball screen, switches to prevent a layup to the big man, provides help on a baseline drive, switches again out to the perimeter, then finishes the play with a box out.

Elite defense isn’t all length and athleticism; it’s feel, too. Bridges has all three in spades.

The biggest improvement in Bridges’ game has been his three-point shooting. He hit 29.9 percent of his threes as a freshman. Last season he moved that mark to 39.3 percent. He’s gotten even better this year, currently knocking down 51 percent of the 5.7 threes he’s attempting per game.

Bridges torched the nets against Gonzaga on Tuesday, connecting on 5 of 9 shots from deep. His shooting motion is quick and consistent every time:

Bridges is so smart moving without the ball, floating to the short corner when it’s open or running off screens for clean looks at the top of the key. The massive strides he’s made as a shooter are an indication of his strong work ethic.

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Bridges is perhaps the greatest testament to Jay Wright’s idea of “Villanova basketball,” a cliche that promotes selflessness, hard work, and patience with the promise of eventual success. Bridges is the embodiment of that right now. He’s starting to gain hype as an NBA lottery pick, up to No. 12 in ESPN’s latest mock draft.

Bridges has a clearly defined role at the next level: a 3-and-D wing who’s self-aware enough to know his limitations. He will accept any defensive assignment and suffocate the opposition in the process. He won’t try to do too much with the ball, preferring to spot-up for jumpers or pick his spots as a cutter or slasher.

Mikal Bridges is a flat-out star this season. It’s already made Villanova one of the best teams in the country. Soon it will make him a very rich man.