CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Each year, the NBPA Top 100 Camp at the John Paul Jones Arena on
Virginia's serves as one of the most important events of the summer. One of the few events that is able to cross the shoe company sponsored events lines that sometimes divide the grassroots basketball world, the NBPA features the best players from teams that are unattached or under the Nike, Adidas or Under Armour umbrellas. Wednesday night, rising senior forward
Miles Bridges made it clear that he was down to a select group of programs, just not quite as select of a group as most have thought. He wasn't the only standout.
Each year, the average player is hoping that a school or schools will select him as the guy that they have to have. But, there are also those players who can afford to pick a select group of schools that they are interested in. Class of 2016's No. 27 player
Miles Bridges, who had 16 points and three rebounds during Wednesday night's evening session, is one of those guys who can afford to select his own group.
Bridges has done exactly that. However, the 6-foot-6 wing from Michigan who attends Huntington (W.V.) Prep was extra sure to point out Wednesday that the group of programs he is down to isn't down to quite as select a group as had been reported.
For the past few months, Bridges has been said to be down to a final five programs. It turns out that the number of programs he is down to is eight.
"I actually have my top eight right now," said Bridges to a sizeable media contigent that asked him to discuss his final five schools. "It's
Michigan State,
Michigan,
Louisville,
Iowa State,
Indiana,
Kentucky,
N.C. State and
North Carolina."
An athletic forward who loves to attack the rim and thrill the crowd with his aerial acrobatics in the open court, Bridges is a throwback who oozes toughness. He crashes the glass and is just enough of a threat with the jumper that defenders can't totally play off of him. He showed that during his evening game.
Next up, Bridges wants to take the steps to cut down his list even further. Because he is from Michigan, the Spartans and Wolverines are two programs that he says he will definitely take visits to during the summer. From there, he will look to select a few more places to take official visits to.
He doesn't have a timetable for making a decision, but made it clear that the level of communication he has with coaches at each program will play a big role in cutting down his list and making a decision.
"I'll just narrow it down soon I think," said Bridges. "I don't exactly know when, it will just depend on the level of communication I have with each school."