Miles Bridges to MSU

[HICATFAN]

Gabriel is expected to play the 3 for us. He has the skills to play the 3, even though he is 6'10. He has a nice jumper with 3 point range.

I believe the young man will turn out to be exceptional!

AlohaCat

 

[kentucky_wildcat_#1]

I hope you guys are right and Gabriel actually has the handles and shooting touch to play the 3 for us. If that happens, we are going to be huge. How many 6'10 3s do you see in college? Or even the Nba. Cal can start and develope this kid to play the 3, but i hope he also slides him to the 4 some. What a huge mismatch that would be. We could use this kid to get the team we're facing in foul trouble in the frontcourt. With this kid's upside, we could see a guy that can play all over the floor. We might want to forget about trying him at pg. haha

 

[Stenchymouse]

I also believe that Gabriel has the body type and athleticism to be a great defender!!

 

[kyjeff1]

Cal would laugh his butt off if he read this thread. There are so many on here that think they know the facts about what happens/happened behind the scenes like they were there on each home visit and phone call.
Well, you weren't there and you really don't know the facts.
Cal has said many times, take everything you think, believe or claim to know and throw it out the window because there is so much going on behind the scenes that it's impossible to know.
That's not a direct quote because it's tough to quote Cal, he rambles on forever.

 

[davekersey]

there is some discussion in a tight little circle saying some interesting things.......like a change of heart?

 

[Cat Ballou]

Seems unlikely, but then Swanigan flipping within a few weeks of his commit seemed unlikely as well.

 

[mr peein in your pants is the coolest]

From Draftexpress on Miles Bridges

"While his ball skills have improved, Bridges still has the skill set of a face-up four/hybrid forward than a straight three. He's not overly advanced with the ball in the half court, struggles to make shots from the perimeter (1-of-9 from three with loose mechanics), and isn't the most comfortable passer on the move or versus pressure.

Bridges is steadily improving in all of those areas, but his success at the college level will most likely come as a mismatch power forward given his ability to finish above the rim inside, rebound, and defend bigs.

On the defensive end, Bridges plays much bigger (and longer) than his measurements thanks to his quick and explosive leaping. While he's more vertically explosive than he is quick twitch laterally, he's constantly altering shots both as an on ball defender and weak side defender. Bridges played with good energy defensively and was flying all over the defensive glass."

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/#ixzz3nc5ZsvLh
http://www.draftexpress.com

This is only 1 analyst's opinion. I'm not posting this as fact.

Most of what I've read about Bridges is his strength and leaping ability are ahead of his skill level. The talk that Bridges is a "prototypical" 3 is basically coming from message board fodder, from fans that have barely seen the kid play. He's still a year away from college and most likely his weaknesses will improve.....but college basketball has a way to make athletes with developing skill level look bad at times. He's still a nice prospect with a lot of potential and even though I'm a UK fan, I'm pretty excited to see him play next season. I can't wait to see some of his dunks.... Also, the kid likes UK and is going to MSU..... not Duke or UNC.

Gabriel has a similar list of weaknesses. Neither kid looks to be "can't miss" talents like Lebron, Ant Davis, Durant etc..and they are both ranked within a range that anybody that KNOWs one is better then the other is talking out of their arse.

I have seen Gabriel play in 2 games and watched his highlight videos.... I have only seen Bridges highlight videos... I have no earthly idea who's going to be better for their college teams..... in their career....etc..

One thing to mention though... Bridges is a full year younger then Gabriel.

 

[KnowsAllTellsAll]

From Draftexpress on Miles Bridges

"While his ball skills have improved, Bridges still has the skill set of a face-up four/hybrid forward than a straight three. He's not overly advanced with the ball in the half court, struggles to make shots from the perimeter (1-of-9 from three with loose mechanics), and isn't the most comfortable passer on the move or versus pressure.

Bridges is steadily improving in all of those areas, but his success at the college level will most likely come as a mismatch power forward given his ability to finish above the rim inside, rebound, and defend bigs.

On the defensive end, Bridges plays much bigger (and longer) than his measurements thanks to his quick and explosive leaping. While he's more vertically explosive than he is quick twitch laterally, he's constantly altering shots both as an on ball defender and weak side defender. Bridges played with good energy defensively and was flying all over the defensive glass."

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/#ixzz3nc5ZsvLh
http://www.draftexpress.com

Sounds like another J. Winslow.

 

[Mileslester23]

Cal would laugh his butt off if he read this thread. There are so many on here that think they know the facts about what happens/happened behind the scenes like they were there on each home visit and phone call.
Well, you weren't there and you really don't know the facts.
Cal has said many times, take everything you think, believe or claim to know and throw it out the window because there is so much going on behind the scenes that it's impossible to know.
That's not a direct quote because it's tough to quote Cal, he rambles on forever.

This is very true.

 

[DodgerDukie1985]

Cal didn't really even ramp up the Gabriel recruitment until Bridges started looking like someone that may end up turning UK down. Cal thought he had Bridges for months, Bridges goes on MSU official and word leaks that MSU may have taken over UK, Cal goes to see Gabriel a couple times within a few days, Gabriel has official UK visit, Cal decided Gabriel is a pretty good "fallback" and accepts that Bridges is likely choosing MSU and that's how the Gabriel recruitment ended so quickly.

This is exactly how I believe it played out as well. But I don't have any insider information like the Kansas fan had with Wenyen Gabriel.

Amazing how basically everyone thought the KU fan was a liar and now he knows all (I saw the thread) lol

 

[bucsrule8872]

This is exactly how I believe it played out as well. But I don't have any insider information like the Kansas fan had with Wenyen Gabriel.

Amazing how basically everyone thought the KU fan was a liar and now he knows all (I saw the thread) lol

Right now he is 100% right. Until he is proven wrong, should we doubt him?

Some people will, just because they are contrarians and can't accept that some people know more about things than they do.

Right now, it's really anyone's guess. No one knows the truth but Cal, most likely.

 

[Cat Ballou]

Cal recognizes elite talent as well as anyone. Yes - Bridges was our No. 1 SF target for a while - but I think when Cal watched Gabriel play thus Summer he was blown away with his potential and wanted him bad.

He would have figured out a way to play both of them. In no way was this an either/or situation.

 

[Mileslester23]

Right now he is 100% right. Until he is proven wrong, should we doubt him?

Some people will, just because they are contrarians and can't accept that some people know more about things than they do.

Right now, it's really anyone's guess. No one knows the truth but Cal, most likely.

Haha appreciate it. My goal as a now somewhat converted UK supporter (can't change my name though) is to continue to provide you guys with the information I am provided while also not losing my credibility. That said some, if not most of my posts may be opinions on something. Like my opinion that I think Cal started recruiting Wenyen harder towards the end. This is up for debate with anyone but I know for a fact that Wenyen has known where he was going for around a month or so. So, to sum up I don't want to sound like that person who thinks anything I say is facts, just want to provide you guys with the information provided to me.

 

[DodgerDukie1985]

Right now he is 100% right. Until he is proven wrong, should we doubt him?

Some people will, just because they are contrarians and can't accept that some people know more about things than they do.

Right now, it's really anyone's guess. No one knows the truth but Cal, most likely.

No reason to doubt him. Clearly he and his sources were legit. Maybe I'll be the exception to the rule, but I'd bet many people know more about recruiting than me since I have no insider information to offer nor do I pay for that sort of information here or elsewhere.

That leaves me the options of forming my own theories and choosing whether or not to believe other theories. Given his insider information, odds are his theory is closer to the truth than what I've thought.