The Spirit Of Miles Bridges

The sophomore star returned to Michigan State—shocking both his coach and his mom—to pursue a calling that perhaps only he and his teammates can appreciate.

- Carvell Wallace

I find myself, unexpectedly, at an informal Bible study in a nondescript Michigan State dorm room. I squeeze onto a couch beside two or three earnest-looking college kids. I think the spot I’ve claimed may have actually belonged to Spartans star sophomore forward Miles Bridges. There was this awkward thing that happened when I first arrived: I picked the seat out, plugged in my rapidly dying phone near it, then went to get some water. • In my absence, Bridges came to the spot on the couch, hovered over it, appeared ready to snag it, but then he got pulled away. And so I slipped back in. From his point of view, was it reasonable to suspect I just straight up took his seat? Yes. Did I do it on purpose? Maybe. All I’ve heard since I got to campus is how kind Miles Bridges is. How unfailingly polite. How humble. Maybe the reporter in me wants to test the veracity of these claims. He is without doubt the biggest and most important athletic figure in this room and possibly on this campus. He was a projected NBA lottery pick after just one statistically dominant season. His crossovers made national highlights. His 3s put daggers in his opponents’ hearts. And yet he stayed in East Lansing. Tonight, he has every reason to flex a little in this dorm room filled with wide-eyed young Christians and teammates; every reason to say calmly but with great authority, “Hey man, you took my seat.” Maybe I want to see if he will.

He does not. Instead, once I sit down, he seems to quietly appraise the situation before wandering over to the kitchen area of the same big room. The students, about 15 in all, already occupy every available space. So Miles folds his 6 feet 7 inches onto the cold kitchen floor, leans his back against the stove and extends his long legs in front of him. In this way, he sits quietly for nearly 90 minutes listening to his teammates read and talk about Scripture.