EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 18: Miles Bridges #22 of the Michigan State Spartans dunks during the game against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils at the Breslin Center on November 18, 2016 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

By: Will Burchfield

@burchie_kid

Until recently, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Miles Bridges would be ‘one-and-done’ at Michigan State. But evidence is building to the contrary.

His father, Raymond, indicated last week that Bridges will return for the 2017-18 season – “Yeah, yeah,” he replied, when asked if his son will be back – and ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla suggested the same thing on Tuesday morning.

“I’ve seen Miles twice this year. I would never tell him what to do because if he’s going to be the 14th pick in the draft and become an instant millionaire, you have to take a long, hard look at that, based on getting hurt later on in his college career. But I have a sneaking suspicion – not knowing anything, not talking to Tom Izzo – I have a sneaking suspicion and a guess that he might come back,” Fraschilla told the Jamie and Stoney Show on 97.1 The Ticket.

Bridges, the unanimous Big Ten freshman of the year, led the Spartans in points (16.6 per game) and rebounds (8.3 per game). The 6’7 forward from Flint lived up to the hype as one of the top recruits in the 2016 class, shaking off an ankle injury in December and providing a constant stream of NBA-level highlights.

“If does come back, based on the fact that he’s been healthy the second part of the year, he could be one of the dominant college players in the country next year,” Fraschilla said. “He’s already had a really good year, but I’m talking about good enough to be in consideration for National Player of the Year, maybe help Michigan State go to the Final Four.”

Then again, Bridges is already projected as a first-round pick in this year’s draft – most mocks have him going somewhere between 10th and 20th overall – which might be enough to lure him to the NBA.

“The flip side of that as a parent is, how do you tell your son to turn down lifetime financial security?” Fraschilla said. “So it’s going to be interesting. But given how much he loves being around that campus, which is the buzz I got when I was around the Spartans, that would not be out of left field for me, if he decided to stay.”

The deadline for players to declare for the NBA draft is April 29.