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FLINT – Cynthia Bridges has seen it around her, Flint’s poverty and pain, its violence and suffering.
She wanted none of that for her son, Miles. They agreed after his freshman year at Flint Southwestern High that he would move out of state to attend prep school. Basketball, to her, was second.
“The group (of friends) he was with and his grades. That was it. And the shootings, everything that we have here,” Cynthia said. “That made me get him out of here to a small-town atmosphere.”
Like it is for many star athletes from Flint, sports became a shining light for Bridges and a path toward safety and education. He’s starred for Huntington Prep in West Virginia the past two winters and on the summer AAU circuit. Every big-time college coach in the country lined up to try and lure Bridges to their campus.
But it was always about coming home. Saying yes Saturday to Tom Izzo and Michigan State, Bridges said, means just that. He even bypassed taking part in a USA Basketball event in Colorado to announce his decision in Mott Community College’s gymnasium, surrounded by friends and family.
“I don’t feel comfortable anywhere else but in my hometown,” Bridges said Saturday. “It’s just an amazing place. I love my city”
Bridges became the fourth member of Izzo’s 2016 recruiting class Saturday, joining point guard Cassius Winston from Detroit, Josh Langford from Alabama and Nick Ward from Ohio. He said he has been close with point guard Winston and shooting guard Langford for a while and got to know Ward some over the past few months. They are ranked the No. 1 class in the nation right now by ESPN, Scout.com and 247sports.com
Twenty years ago, Antonio Smith was in Bridges’ sneakers. It was the first season for Izzo after replacing Jud Heathcote, and Smith — a 1995 graduate of Flint Northern — became the first significant high school player to join Izzo’s Spartans.
Recruiting reporting was still in its infancy, but those covering it took note of the big man with the big game from Flint joining the little head coach with the little-known name from the Upper Peninsula.
“Not on this level, though,” Smith said of the attention he received when he signed. “Today’s athlete is exposed to so much more.”
Morris Peterson soon followed in that recruiting class, then Mateen Cleaves a year later and Charlie Bell the year after that. They became known as “The Flintstones,” a nickname and lineage that would link together every player Izzo would bring in from the former General Motors hub.
“I feel like I have a lot to do to get to their level,” Bridges said, “but I’m willing to work. It’s gonna be a journey.”
Others have followed since, including Kelvin Torbert, Matt Trannon, Marquise Gray, Tim Bograkos and Tom Herzog. None fit the profile and abilities of Bridges, a 6-foot-6, five-star swingman rated the No. 8 overall player in the nation with a game some recruiting analysts and scouts say is already NBA-ready. He’s an athletic, do-it-all player — a quick-off-the-floor leaper who can get to the rim on the drive, shoot from distance and rebound and block shots on the defensive end.
Couch: Bridges to MSU a sign of Izzo’s fence around Michigan
“When you look at talent, there’s a cyclical nature,” said Leigh Alan Klein, the CEO of Five-Star Basketball camps who also writes for SLAM magazine. “While these kids Bridges and (Detroit native Josh) Jackson didn’t stay home for high school, they still represent the talent in the state. For Michigan State, that lived for so many years with Flint talent, this is an important get.”
Flint has gotten worse since Smith’s era, during Izzo’s early tenure. As the population has decreased, the crime and murder rates have remained among the nation’s highest. An FBI report released last week showed a significant drop in homicides last year from 48 to 28, but the Detroit Free Press reported this year’s total already is up to 43.
“Time has truly changed here in our community, from the time when I grew up with the (auto) shops leaving and the education going,” said Jeff Grayer, who returned to Flint as a youth basketball coach five years ago after finishing a nine-year NBA career in 1999 and a brief coaching stint at his college alma mater, Iowa State. “Most parents try to look for other options and opportunities for their kid. … There’s so many things pointing kids in the wrong directions, and it first starts with academics and education.”
Bridges started playing basketball when he was in third grade, like many kids in Flint. It was Grayer who saw his talent early and helped Bridges hone and shape his game on the AAU circuit. He knew the perils and pitfalls that could trap talented athletes and wanted to keep him away from it. So did Bridges’ mother.
“He called me one day and asked if Miles could travel with him and his sons. And I said yes,” Cynthia Bridges said. “That way, it would get him off the streets.”
Bridges went to Flint Southwestern High as a freshman. By the end of that year, he and his mother made the decision that he would leave for West Virginia. He stayed with one of his coaches there his first year but has lived with a host family since.
“He’s matured. He hasn’t had mom, especially the first year when he was with the coach,” Cynthia Bridges said. “The coach had him wash his clothes, iron. He’s grown into a man. He’s not momma’s little boy anymore.”
As a junior last season, Bridges’ game also matured. He averaged 15.7 points and 10.6 rebounds a game in his second season at Huntington Prep. He said he fits in there and enjoys the school but started feeling a little homesick over the winter months.
Miles Bridges says MSU 'the place to go'
His basketball growth carried over into the summer AAU circuit with The Family, a program based in Detroit. He’s now back at Huntington Prep for his senior season, which starts in a month.
Kentucky came calling. Indiana, too. The pull of MSU and being close to Flint, however, proved to be the difference-maker.
“The selfish part of me was like, ‘Yes!’” Smith said after Bridges picked the Spartans. “No doubt.”
Many felt Bridges’ return to make his college announcement in Flint was symbolic. It was a way for him to blend his own past and his future, as well as to bridge the Spartans’ ties to his city.
“I was really just letting Miles go through this process,” said Smith, who was at Mott Community College in his green and white Saturday to welcome Bridges to the family. “I always told Miles, it was really up to him what he wanted to do with his career. But if he’s around here, he can help a lot of people out. I think he’s ready to carry a burden like that and help the community.”
Bridges said he called Izzo the day after his visit, for the Oregon football game on Sept. 12, to inform him of his decision. That morning, he and his mother had breakfast at Izzo’s home along with the entire team. She was impressed with the family atmosphere Izzo and his wife, Lupe, created for the players.
They got in Izzo’s car before the coach was going to take them back to Breslin Center. Miles turned to her before Izzo got in.
“He said, ‘Mom, how do you feel? I feel confused.’ And I said, ‘I think Michigan State. What about you?’ And he said, ‘So do I.’ And we gave each other a high-five,” she said. “So when coach Izzo got in the car, we didn’t say a word.”
Izzo was ecstatic when he finally heard yes a day later, and Bridges said they’ve talked as much as possible since. He’s also heard from the original Flintstones as well.
“I don’t think it was just his choice. I think the community as well factored in on this decision,” Smith said. “He really loves the city. He told me himself he couldn’t imagine himself really going anywhere else.”
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