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Mikal Bridges Declares for 2018 NBA Draft, Skips Senior Season at Villanova

Alec Nathan

Villanova swingman Mikal Bridges announced his intention to declare for the NBA draft Tuesday after boosting his stock as a junior, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski

"I bring winning to your team," Bridges told ESPN. "I learned about that at Villanova, what is a winning, championship atmosphere and what you've got to do to achieve it. You have to always be locked in. Two championships in three years—not a lot of people have done that."

Bridges was a quality role player during his first two seasons with the Wildcats, but he made a serious leap during the 2017-18 campaign.

Working in tandem with Jalen Brunson to comprise one of the nation's most polished one-two punches, Bridges averaged 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 51.4 percent from the field and a career-high 43.5 percent from three.

"There's space in the NBA on the floor, and there's this move toward positionless basketball that I fit into," Bridges said, per Wojnarowski. "I can shoot the ball. I can defend. I can move without the ball. I'm progressing in my game, getting better through work every day."

The 21-year-old also converted a stellar 67.9 percent of his shots at the rim, per Hoop-Math.com.  

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His impressive season earned him the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year award, per NCAA March Madness:

"My success has been because of a lot of hard work, and a lot of patience," Bridges told ESPN. "My first year in college, that was the longest time I ever sat out. Villanova and the coaches helped me to build a really strong work ethic. I didn't have as much of an ethic my freshman year, but I was pushed a lot by my coaches and that helped get me to become the player that I am."

Bridges is the kind of three-and-D man who could serve as a quality supporting threat in the NBA, operating in the mold of Washington Wizards small forward Otto Porter Jr., as Bleacher Report draft expert Jonathan Wasserman wrote:

"They're complementary scorers—not go-to players—who thrive off spot-up shooting and opportunistic driving. But like Porter since his freshman year in college, Bridges has improved offensively (17.7 points per game) in terms of finding different ways to make shots.

"They can also guard multiple positions, thanks to their size, quickness and wingspans over 7'0"."

While Bridges may not be among the most intriguing, upside-laden lottery options, his two-way prowess should enable him to thrive.

   

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