Graham Couch

Lansing State Journal

If Miles Bridges is looking for someone to tell him it’s OK to stay at Michigan State, then he should stay at Michigan State.

There isn’t going to be a definitive right answer for him. He’s too good. The NBA will happily take him now or whenever he’s ready to go. He’s among the few who can’t make a mistake either way.

That is, unless he doesn’t listen to his gut.

There are very few people in the world who truly understand what Bridges is going through right now. Gary Harris is one them. He made this decision twice during his time at MSU, deciding to stay after his freshman year and then leave for the NBA after his sophomore season three years ago. Bridges has already reached out to Harris, smart enough to know Harris is part an exclusive club that no agent or advisor, coach or mother can ever be a part of. Harris plans to talk to Bridges again shortly.

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“You just can’t have any regrets,” Harris said. “If he decides to stay, he can’t be going throughout the whole season like, ‘Ah, man, I should have left. Why am I still here?’ If he leaves, he can’t be like, ‘Why didn’t I just stay in school?’ Whatever you do, just be all in.”

Harris was “all in” with both of his decisions, including to leave MSU.

“That’s when I knew I was ready because I didn’t question whether I should stay or I should go,” he said.

It’s worked out for Harris, who, in his third season with the Denver Nuggets, is considered an emerging star. He’s averaging better than 15 points per game, 17.3 since the All-Star break, and shooting 42 percent from 3-point range, up from 35 percent last season and 20 percent during a trying rookie year. And in a league where the generational money is the second contract, Harris’ timing couldn’t be better. He’s expected to sign a four-year deal this summer in the neighborhood of $80 million.

Maybe this all would have happened for him if he left MSU after his freshman season — he was projected as a mid-first-round pick then, too, and was selected by the Nuggets with the 19th overall pick a year later in 2014. But maybe instead of a rookie season where he only played 13 minutes a game, and didn’t play at all in 27 games, he would have experienced two years of relative misery.

“It’s tough. Just because you’re so young and you go from usually being one of the best players on your team to not even on the floor,” Harris said. “It’s hard, definitely a challenge mentally.”

When Harris returned to East Lansing during his rookie year with the Nuggets, it was clear he missed college, even if he was “all in” with the NBA. He watched longingly as his former classmates Denzel Valentine and Matt Costello reached a Final Four, a day after scoring two points in 11 minutes for a Nuggets team that was 18 games below .500.

“There were times once I got to the NBA when I’m watching my guys play, just seeing the excitement inside them, you’re like, ‘Man, what if I was still in college, if I was there with them?’” Harris said.

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Harris and Bridges are in similar situations in some ways, not in others. Both entered MSU as part of inseparable and large freshman classes. Harris had Valentine, Costello and Kenny Kaminski. Bridges has Cassius Winston, Joshua Langford and Nick Ward.

“Those are your guys,” Harris said. “It’s hard when you have a chance to leave, especially being so young.”

There are differences between Harris and Bridges. Harris became a one-and-done prospect because of his performance as an MSU freshman. He wasn’t considered one coming out of high school. He’s a 6-foot-3 shooting guard, which, for a while, the NBA shunned like a disease. Bridges is a 6-foot-7 forward, with a 25-year-old’s physique and high-wire athleticism. His type has always been in style at the next level. He was a presumed member of the one-and-done crew before he stepped foot on MSU’s campus.

There is a stigma about players who stay in school. Being a one-and-done, in shallow basketball circles, comes with cachet that’s gone the moment you begin your sophomore season. It’s all ego. Bridges, if he stays, can help shatter a stigma that’s led to more mistakes than NBA careers. It’s not as if the Brooklyn Nets aren’t going to take him next year just because he’s 20 instead of 19. Given that next year’s draft is expected to be weaker than this one, he’ll likely jump from his current projection of around the 12th pick to somewhere inside the top 10, perhaps making up any delayed salary in his rookie year. If Bridges improves his right hand and outside shot, he could be a top-five pick a year from now.

Part of what’s tearing at Bridges, beyond the friendships and lifestyle, is legacy. He wants to win a national championship at MSU. He and his classmates got a taste of the NCAA tournament, experiencing enough success to feel the adrenaline, but not enough to be remembered. Bridges, unlike Harris, is from Flint. He’s grown up knowing Flint legends as MSU legends. If he returns, given the rest of the roster and the possibilities lurking ahead in the recruiting signing period — which begins Wednesday — Bridges could leave MSU as a legend. He’s not that yet.

Or he could go get paid now and live another of one his dreams, playing in the NBA. The league will happily draft him now and develop him.

There’s no information from the NBA or Tom Izzo that’s going to give him clarity. He’s not a marginal prospect. His strengths and flaws are in plain sight.

There’s no wrong answer. As long as it’s his answer. This is about where he wants to be next season.

“At the end of the day, it’s his decision, it’s his life. Whatever decision he makes, he’s going to be successful,” Harris said.

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.