Flintstone tradition continues with Bridges

FLINT, Mich. -Miles Bridges said that when he left Flint, Michigan two years ago for Huntington Prep in West Virginia, he really wanted to come home, and almost did towards the end of his junior season. Bridges will play out the rest of his high school career at Huntington Prep, but when he is done, will make his return home to play for Michigan State.

The 6-7 small forward and five-star recruit made his decision to play for Tom Izzo and the Spartans at Mott Community College in front of family, friends, and fans, in his hometown of Flint. Bridges could have kept it simple and announced his decision on social media, but it was something about sharing his moment with his fellow Flintstones that he could not resist.

"I didn't feel comfortable doing this anywhere else but in my hometown," Bridges said. "Flint is just an amazing place, and I love my city."

When Bridges left Flint after only one year at Southwestern Academy, it surprised and disappointed some. But it was a move he had to make for his development as a basketball player. West Virginia is not Flint by any means, but Bridges adjusted well to the move.

"It didn't take that long," Bridges said to adjusting to a new state. "I had players around me going through the same thing, and we just connected as brother, we are all good now.

"It was hard at first, but the move was purely for basketball. I love Flint. I was having fun going to school here, but it was all about basketball, and playing the top competition. I wanted to play the top competition every game just to get better."

Playing at one of the top prep schools in the country has turned Bridges into one of the top players in the nation, and a possible NBA prospect. But let it be known that Flint made him. Known for its high crime rate, and blight nowadays, Flint was once an automobile manufacturing powerhouse, and home to some of the best high school basketball players the state has ever seen. Outsiders may view Flint as a bad place, but to Bridges, it is the start of it all his unfinished story.

"It has made me very strong," Bridges said of growing up in Flint. "Flint is not some of these other cities. It has made me tougher, mentally tougher, and it makes me want to grind harder to get my mom and my family out of the city."

Being a highly-touted basketball player out of the "Vehicle City" and continuing your career at Michigan State comes with a lot of responsibility, and Bridges realizes that. Fifteen years ago, three players from Flint helped MSU win its second NCAA title: Mateen Cleaves (Northern), Charlie Bell (Southwestern), and Morris Peterson (Northwestern). The fourth member, Antonio Smith (Northern) graduated a year before the title win. They became known as the "Flintstones", and ever since then, anyone from Flint headed to Michigan State had a lot to live up to, including Kelvin Torbert (Northwestern), Matt Trannon (Northern), and Marquise Gray (Beecher). Now it is Bridges' turn.

"It's a great feeling, "Bridges said to be compared to some of the Flint greats who went on to play at MSU. "I feel like I have a lot to do to get to their level, but I'm willing to work, and it is going to be a journey.

"What they have done is just motivation for me. I want to go further than what Mateen and Mo Peete did. They are great people, and they motivate me everyday. I talked to them already, and they welcomed me to the family, and told me that I could do great things, and to continue to work hard and never be satisfied."

All four original Flintstones have the word Flint tattooed on their arms to commemorate their moment of success at Michigan State, and to pay homage to the city that birth them. Bridges might be holding off on his.

"I don't know about a tattoo," he laughed. "You have to ask my mom about that."