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Yeah, he just wanted to hold onto it for one more year.”Ĭleaves has known Bridges since he was a youngster. He really loved Coach Izzo and the rest of the boys. Things didn’t change, but look at him now.” Leave, start your NBA career.’ But he didn’t. “I really wanted him to leave, I really did,” Cynthia Bridges said, “because that’s what I was told and he was told. Instead, he was still doing his thing some 85 miles away from here in East Lansing, playing another season under Spartans longtime coach Tom Izzo. If Cynthia Bridges had her way, Miles would have been donning official NBA garb last season.

So rather than bolt like many in his position typically would do, Bridges wasn’t pleased with the sour taste in his mouth following Michigan State’s early-round loss in the NCAA Tournament. He had visions of walking in the footsteps of others from Flint - Mateen Cleaves, Charlie Bell and Morris Peterson were on the Spartans’ 2000 national championship team - who left their indelible marks at Michigan State. But as people who don’t know him well are learning, Bridges isn’t a me-first person. After tearing it up at Michigan State his freshman season, averaging 16.9 points and 8.3 rebounds and earning Big 10 Freshman of the Year honors, Bridges was expected to forgo the rest of his collegiate eligibility and cash it in for a big NBA payday. This was a day many thought would come a season ago. But at the end of the day, it’s a business trip and I’m happy we got the ‘dub.’” “I’m just happy to be back, see my family, see my friends. “It’s not weird, but it’s just a great feeling,” Bridges said. They needed a keepsake, even if it was a simple fist bump or hug - anything to call their own lasting memory of this day.

He stopped and posed for what must’ve felt like 1,000 pictures.

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Most of Section 104 was full with well-wishers and people who wanted a brief moment of Bridges’ time. People magically stuck to him like a magnet, clinging onto a guy who is one of them. A throng of members from The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Flint even made trek down and Bridges was like a pied piper. I just thank God for that moment.”Īll it took was a glimpse at the stands also after the game to see just how much this meant to everyone. With the AAU, the traveling, Michigan State. “I mean, he’s worked so hard and so have I. “Awesome,” Cynthia Bridges said in a sitdown chat following the Hornets’ 113-103 win. With Bridges back in his home state for the first time as a pro, this evening had a distinct feel to it. He’s a proud native of Flint, Michigan, a blue-collar city north of here. Before all the highlight-reel dunks in the first month of his rookie season, this region was Bridges’ haven. This represented a culmination of countless hours, a celebration that her son’s dream had morphed into reality. Even though she now lives in Charlotte so she can be closer to her son, Miles, and has attended all of the Hornets’ home games this season, there was something special about watching him do his thing out on the court at Little Caesars Arena. 0 teal jersey, Cynthia Bridges was having one of those pinch-me-I’m-dreaming moments. DETROIT - Up in Row 15 in Section 105, some 70 miles away from their beloved hometown and a lengthy full-court pass away from the Charlotte Hornets’ bench, there was a celebration.įrom the second rookie Miles Bridges checked into the game against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter, the shrieks, cheers and words of encouragement flowed from the massive contingent of Bridges’ fans in the section until the game was complete.

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