Miles Bridges made a decision yesterday that transformed Michigan State

Miles Bridges made a decision yesterday that transformed Michigan State into an instant national championship contender.

The 6-7 Big Ten Rookie of the Year, who had been projected as a late lottery pick if he declared early for the NBA draft, has decided to stay in school for another year. His decision, made in front of a large crowd of Michigan State undergraduates gathered at the foot of the Sparty statue, left Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo fighting back tears of joy.

“I’ve got some unfinished business here,”Bridges said. “I want to stay.”

The decision surprised his mother, who lobbied for her son to turn pro, but accepted his decision. “”I would go to the NBA,” Cynthia Bridges admitted. “But I’m not the basketball player. Miles is.”

Bridges, who grew up in the basketball town of Flint, led the Spartans with 16.7 points per game, the highest average for a freshman at the school since iconic Magic Johnson averaged 17 points during the 1977-78 season. He also averaged 8.3 rebounds, the most by a Michigan State freshman since forward Greg Kelser in 1975-76. He was one of the most exciting young players in the game, shooting 59 percent from the two, 39 from the three and averaging 2.1 assists.

It’s nice to know college basketball has not completely lost its mind after dozens of players who aren’t ready for the NBA declared for the draft. This spring

Bridges made common sense decision to pass on winning the lottery to stay in East Lansing, work on his game and help the Spartans, who should start the season as a Top 5 team and a Big Ten favorite and pursue their first national championship since 2000. “Most of the year, I thought he was going and assumed he would go,” Naismith Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo said. “He felt he wasn’t ready and didn’t want to do it.”

Bridges was part of a highly touted recruiting class that took a while to mature, but eventually lived up to the hype. He and three classmates, 6-9 forward Nick Ward, point guard Cassius Winston and wing guard Joshua Langford, were four of the team’s top five scorers. “To have Miles back, it’s going to be a special year,” said Winston, who attends weekly bible study with Bridges. “A lot of us, if we were in his shoes, it would be really hard to turn on. The NBA is the goal is we are all working toward and he’s chosen a different track.”

Michigan State loses just two players, Eron Harris and Alvin Ellis, who averaged at least 10 minutes a game last season and will return eight of its top 10 players. Another player, power forward Gavin Schilling, will play as a fifth-year senior after missing last season with a knee injury and center Ben Carter has petition the NCAA for another season of eligibility after missing last season with a knee injury. The Spartans have signed 6-11, 220-pound forward Jaren Jackson, a McDonald’s All America who was one of the best players on the U.S. Select team in the Nike Hoop Summit, and 6-8, 270pound forward Xavier Tillman, who was voted first-team all-state in Michigan. They are trying to land two more blue chip prospects, Brandon McCoy, a seven-foot McDonald’s All America center from California, and Mark Smith, a 6-4 point guard from Illinois who was selected Mr. Basketball in that state.

“We’re going to have a great team,” Bridges said. “I want to win a national championship, my teammates are a big part of it. I love my teammates. I knew I was going to get better, but I would rather stay here and get better with my teammates and become a better person with them.”

Without several key players from the 2015-16 season and some additional injuries, Bridges helped Michigan State who were 20-15 this past year extend its NCAA Tournament streak to 20 years and advance to the second round as an eighth seed before being eliminated by Kansas. Izzo has coached the Spartans to eight Final Fours.