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5-star wing Miles Bridges has John Calipari and Tom Izzo fighting over him

The Huntington Prep star is setting himself apart from his peers at the top of the senior class.

By Ricky O'Donnell

Miles Bridges might have as much momentum as any player in the class of 2016 right now. The 6'7 wing just decimated Peach Jam in front of every college coach in the country last weekend, putting up 22.8 points and 10 rebounds per game. He's ranked as high as No. 7 by ESPN and as low as No. 24 by Rivals, but everyone now seems convinced he's one of the better prospects in his class.

Bridges is in Chicago this weekend starring at the Nike Global Challenge, which runs Thursday-Saturday at Whitney Young High School (the house that Jahlil Okafor Quentin Richardson built) on the city's near west side. It's a live period weekend, which means college coaches are everywhere you look. Judging by Bridges' performance during Wednesday night's scrimmage, it's a safe bet he's going to continue leaving everyone impressed.

Bridges looks like the tallest linebacker you've ever seen: at 225 pounds, he has a hulking presence on the court. It's easy to describe him as a "power wing" who will make a living in transition. It's even easier to dream about sliding him up to the four where he'd have a speed and skill advantage on almost anyone guarding him.

Bridges is well aware of the way the game has been trending with perimeter-oriented players more likely to appear at power forward, but he's still insistent that he sees himself at shooting guard or small forward long-term.

"I know for sure that I'm a wing player," Bridges told SB Nation on Wednesday night. "If a coach wants me to play stretch four sometimes, then I'll be OK with it. I know I put in the work on my ball-handling, my shot is getting way better. So I feel I'm a two or a three in college."

18-year-olds are such determined people. While Bridges may end up as a wing eventually, it's going to be awfully tempting for his college coach to throw him at the four. Duke just won the national championship by sliding Justise Winslow to that spot. At his best, Bridges can be a similar type of physical force.

Yes, there's a lot of high level talent in the class of 2016 (we've been trying to tell you this for a year), but Bridges' recruitment is especially compelling. That's because it seems like his choice might come down to two of the country's biggest and most famous coaches: John Calipari and Tom Izzo.

Bridges announced his final five last weekend, which includes Kentucky and Michigan State, along with Michigan, Indiana and North Carolina. He seems like he's enjoying the process of being a high-level recruit:

Bridges transferred to Huntington Prep (the prep school Andrew Wiggins once attended) after his freshman year, but he grew up in Flint, Mich., a notorious pipeline for the Spartans. Izzo has already had a super strong start to the 2016 class, locking down big man Nick Ward (No. 42 overall, per ESPN) and wing Josh Langford (No. 13). Bridges would put Michigan State over the top with one of the best recruiting hauls in the country, and Izzo is going all in on him.

"Izzo's been recruiting me since 10th grade," Bridges said. "I talk to (former Spartan) Draymond (Green) like a lot. He teaches me how to keep calm through adversity. Just to keep my head."

Ward is also playing at the Global Challenge. You can bet he's been in Bridges' ear, too.

"Nick has been saying some stuff to me," Bridges said. "Nick is in the room with me, actually. So he's talking to me about that all the time. I'm just going to make the best decision for myself."

That decision might also push him to Lexington. Kentucky lost out on Jayson Tatum to Duke, and the worry is that he might pull another UK target, No. 1 player Harry Giles, with him. That means Calipari better have Plan B quickly lined up, and the centerpiece of his new outlook sounds like it might be Bridges.

"Kentucky is a great offer," Bridges said. "It was just a great feeling. I've grown up watching up them, so to get that offer was amazing. I talk to Coach Calipari almost every single day. I talk to (assistant) Coach (Kenny) Payne every day, too.

"I'm the person they want from my class. They want me to come in immediately and play."

Bridges isn't ready to make his college decision just yet, but he told SB Nation he plans on committing by December. If you want to see why it's a big deal, just check his junior year highlight reel. He showed a lot of similar things during Wednesday night's scrimmage, hitting at least one long jumper and throwing down several dunks.

Within a loaded 2016 class, Bridges has done enough to make himself stand out. Where he goes from here is anyone's guess.

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