Jalen Bridges' Efficiency Could Help Take WVU to the Next Level

The young redshirt freshman is finding success early in his career.

Once news broke that sophomore big man Oscar Tshiebwe had departed from the WVU program, head coach Bob Huggins knew that they would have to change their lineup and rotations to play more "small ball" with four perimeter-oriented guys and Derek Culver underneath.

It's not every day that you see a team actually improve when you take away a McDonald's All-American but that's exactly what has happened with West Virginia. Since Tshiebwe's departure, the Mountaineers are 3-2 and really, should be 4-1 but a game-winner by Texas' Andrew Jones at the buzzer handed WVU their 4th loss of the season.

One reason West Virginia has looked more efficient on the offensive end is due to the production they are getting out of redshirt freshman Jalen Bridges. With him on the floor, he is able to stretch the defense which allows Culver more room to work in the paint. Since entering the starting lineup, Bridges is averaging 10.2 points and three rebounds a game while shooting 63% from the field and 67% from beyond the arc. In the last two games alone, he is 10/14 (71%) from the floor and 4/6 (67%) from three totaling 25 points and six boards. 

During media sessions in the preseason, head coach Bob Huggins repeatedly showed confidence in Bridges and knew he would be a guy that could make shots on a consistent basis. Following Monday night's win, Huggins echoed some of the same sentiments. 

"We've got him to rebound it a little bit more which he is very capable of doing as well. But yeah, that's exactly what I envisioned (from Bridges). 

Bridges' play even caught the attention of ESPN's Fran Fraschilla who called him arguably the best pro prospect on the West Virginia roster and compared him to Mikal Bridges who was an elite scorer for Villanova from 2015-18 and is now in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns.

Seemingly every year around tournament time, Huggins always talks about making shots, and to advance you have to make shots at a high clip. Having a shooter as efficient as Bridges could be what gets the Mountaineers over the hump to make another run at a Final Four. 

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the page's top righthand corner. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:

Facebook - @WVUonSI

Twitter - @SI_WVU and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.