Miles Bridges did something you seldom see these days regarding the NBA draft. He deferred gratification.
Gratification, as in money. As in millions. As in deciding even though he would have been a likely first-round pick in the 2017 draft, he’d pass on the one-and-done option to spend a second season in college basketball with Michigan State.
That wasn’t some noble gesture. Regardless of what you sometimes read on college-basketball message boards, there is nothing unsavory about moving on to making millions by playing professionally as soon as the NBA says you’re eligible.
But Bridges, a Charlotte Hornets rookie who was the 12th overall pick Thursday, made a personal choice that a second season with Spartans coach Tom Izzo could refine him both in basketball and overall.