If you got to the basketball games early enough last season, you likely noticed Jalen Bridges.

The freshman forward from Fairmont was a staple on the court dribbling and getting up shot after shot leading up to the standard pre-game routine with the rest of the West Virginia team. It was cathartic routine for Bridges considering that he never saw any regular season action.

“It was basically time for me to really just go have fun. I might as well get something out of it. I worked on my ball-handling, dribbles into shots and stuff like that,” he said.

That decision was made by him. That’s because Bridges wanted to spend last year adjusting to college after making the last-minute decision to bypass a previously planned season at prep school to enroll at West Virginia. He decided to cancel official visits to Indiana, Xavier, Miami and Alabama and get a head start on his college career literally only a day before he was scheduled to head to his post-grad school.

“I felt like it was a great opportunity for me to get stronger and play at the pace of this level,” he said.

But mentally he felt that he wasn’t quite ready for the leap so that meant making the difficult choice of redshirting last year in order to get up to speed.

Bridges knew that taking him away from the court for a year would be challenging before he made the choice, but even he didn’t realize just how difficult it would be at times.

“Even though I was part of it, it just killed me not being able to play because obviously I’ve been playing all my life. Really never had to sit there and watch,” he said.

While it was hard, Bridges did accomplish what he wanted to by learning the Mountaineers schemes and adding significant strength to his 220-pound frame. He improved his ball-handling in the process and learned how to scan the floor and make plays for himself and his teammates.

Yes, he took his lumps at times in practice – but as it typically does for freshmen, it eventually all clicked. Instead of playing to survive, he was becoming more comfortable. That led to results.

“That’s when I realized I belonged here; I could make something out of this,” he said.

He’s rounded his entire game into form evolving from a catch and shoot option to somebody that is going to be able to work off the dribble or on the move. He has also developed an ability to score through contact while refining his ability to score the ball in the post given his 6-foot-8 frame.

Bridges even had time to fix his shooting motion because he had deemed it slow. Now, he is excited to showcase his budding skill set once the Mountaineers open the season regardless of the role, he finds himself in to begin his career.

"Whatever he is doing he needs to keep doing it because he has one of the best shots on our team," senior Gabe Osabuohien said. "His shooting mechanics are solid and he's a real good shooter and he's proven that day-in and day-out."

This season you aren’t going to have to arrive early just to see Bridges in action because the Fairmont native is expected to play a role for the Mountaineers on the wing. Last year paid off and while it was hard, Bridges doesn’t have any regrets about where it’s put him in regard to his future.

“Just looking forward to getting the chance to step on the floor and be a shooter, be a defender and provide any type of spark I can for my team. I just want to contribute any way I can,” he said.

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