This players says it all.
2 years 6 months ago - 2 years 6 months ago #267
by wvu4u2
This players says it all. was created by wvu4u2
MORGANTOWN — It was a rare look behind the curtain, one into the heart and mind of a tormented West Virginia player, a popular player who found the world crashing down upon him over the past couple of seasons that forced him to transfer.
The player is former Fairmont Senior High star Jalen Bridges, who wound up using the form of the John Flowers and Kevin Jones’ Finalfour Podcast to explain to the world the emotions that drove him to transfer from his own state university and wind up within the Big 12 Conference at Baylor.If anything summed up what had been boiling within Bridges as last year came dismantled, it was this comment:“I’m mentally done.
I feel like I have to go somewhere else. Just done, brothers. There’s a long list of issues. I need a change of pace somewhere else.”
The issues were far ranging, pointing out not much of what is on today’s players minds.In no specific order there was:--A cultural gap between the modern player and a coach who hailed from a different era--Two losing streaks that sapped the heart out of the team--The fans reaction to the losing streak, magnified over social media--A introduction of the transfer portal and NIL money to college sports--A change in players’ allegiances from the team to themselves.
Let’s begin with the dynamics of the coach-player relationship,
Bob Huggins being a Hall of Fame coach with more than 900 victories built upon a demanding style of play and a tough love approach while Bridges is an intelligent, caring, sensitive athlete of this generation.
It didn’t work out.“I’d rather be taught than just yelled at,” Bridges said on the podcast. “I can take yelling if there’s teaching, too. I’m not saying there was no teaching, it was just they’d rather yell at you and put you on the treadmill rather than show you what to do and how to fix it and not make that same mistake again.
It’s like a punishment over trying to get better.
”That has worked for Huggins over the years but you can see in recent seasons that it wasn’t always accepted for what it is meant to be.
“It’s like you’re so scared of messing up that it makes you want to learn on your own how to do the right thing,” Bridges said.
It was completely evident, for example, that shooting guard Sean McNeil lost all of his confidence as the year went on.“I feel like a lot of guys, myself included, got caught up in the rough love and tried to be too perfect..
When you try to play too perfect, that’s when you are walking on eggshells and not going to be able to perform,” Bridges said.
Bridges felt he was being misused, his concept of himself being different than Huggins’ and the fans’ concept of him.“Everybody talking about me like I’m a big. I ain’t ever been a damn big my entire life.
I was a shooting guard in high school,” he said.
WVU had McNeil and Taz Sherman as shooting guards, which sent Bridges off hunting for shots he could make.
“I felt in the offense I had to hunt shots and that’s not me; never been me,” he said. “I had to force shots up to get a look.”He didn’t sulk.
He always put forth effort.“I bought in,” he said. “I tried to guard. I may not be the best defender but I’m at least a prideful defender and going to at least try to stop my man from scoring. If I’m in the game, I’m going to play hard. That’s how I look at it.
”It made for a strange mix, for he would work before practice and after practice with his dad, Cory, but the emphasis there seemed to be on skills that he wasn’t being allowed to use in the games.
Then, when two seven-game losing streaks erased a 13-2 start, everything came undone.
Social media was on everyone and the team concept was torn apart from within.
“It’s going to be the same elsewhere but those two seven-game losing streaks and the negativity with it just made a bad situation worse,” he said.
“Y’all could tell, we was checked out. You could see it on our face.“It was like we were playing, but when the other started a 4-0 run we started walking around out there and laying down. We were just checked out; everybody mentally checked out.
”They tried to correct it themselves but the leadership just wasn’t there.“We had team meetings. We broke it down. It was like break ‘em down, then build it back up ... but you’ll are forgetting to build us back up,” Bridges said.
” You guys are just drilling us. If you all are telling us we’re not this and we’re not that and it’s not working, why not switch it up and try a different approach?”
And so he decided to leave.
It wasn’t an easy decision but he approached it in a businesslike fashion
He denies the NIL money entered into it, revealing he had one offer that would have paid him $500,000.“I could have gone somewhere and got half a mill,” he said. “But how long is that going to last compared to a lifetime in the NBA.
That’s generational money. I’m not thinking short term. I’m thinking long term.“I’m thinking I’m going to go somewhere and get rich in college. A lot of people would have done that. I’m trying to take care of family for years and years to come.
My grandmother is 70 and she’s still working, both of them. That’s not cool to me.”So, he worked his way through his possibilities and came down to Alabama and Baylor. It was all about basketball, his opportunity and the style of play.He eliminated Alabama, saying he had too much fun on his visit there, which translated into there being too many things that would distract him from his basketball.“It was a basketball decision,” he said.
“From guarding them and knowing the plays they run, I could see myself cutting off those screens. That was hell to guard. I just wanted to go where there was opportunity, where the play style fit me and I could lock in.“When you look at from a fit and opportunity standpoint, they have two for sure and potentially three guys in the NBA draft. That’s a lot of minutes that are available. I’m already familiar with the Big 12 venues.
I know what’s what. I know what everybody runs. When you look it from a fit perspective, it’s really a very easy decision.”The hardest part of it is moving away from home.“You guys know me. I’m a great dude, bro. I’m never getting in trouble, but people out there are trying to assassinate my character because I made a decision that doesn’t even affect them.
Do you think I want to leave here. I’ve been here my whole life. If I’m really being honest, I would love to stay here, but it’s just so far gone ... got to move along, brother,” he said.The other day, he let some of the frustration get to him and took heat over a Tweet where he said the fans don’t matter.
That, he said, was not what he was trying to say.“The Tweet I had the other day about ‘fans don’t matter’, it wasn’t saying nobody cares about the fans. It was that their opinions don’t matter enough to make someone transfer out. It’s deeper than that. There were some deeper problems and that’s why I transferred,” he said.
Follow @bhertzel on Twitter
see more at: Fairmont times
The player is former Fairmont Senior High star Jalen Bridges, who wound up using the form of the John Flowers and Kevin Jones’ Finalfour Podcast to explain to the world the emotions that drove him to transfer from his own state university and wind up within the Big 12 Conference at Baylor.If anything summed up what had been boiling within Bridges as last year came dismantled, it was this comment:“I’m mentally done.
I feel like I have to go somewhere else. Just done, brothers. There’s a long list of issues. I need a change of pace somewhere else.”
The issues were far ranging, pointing out not much of what is on today’s players minds.In no specific order there was:--A cultural gap between the modern player and a coach who hailed from a different era--Two losing streaks that sapped the heart out of the team--The fans reaction to the losing streak, magnified over social media--A introduction of the transfer portal and NIL money to college sports--A change in players’ allegiances from the team to themselves.
Let’s begin with the dynamics of the coach-player relationship,
Bob Huggins being a Hall of Fame coach with more than 900 victories built upon a demanding style of play and a tough love approach while Bridges is an intelligent, caring, sensitive athlete of this generation.
It didn’t work out.“I’d rather be taught than just yelled at,” Bridges said on the podcast. “I can take yelling if there’s teaching, too. I’m not saying there was no teaching, it was just they’d rather yell at you and put you on the treadmill rather than show you what to do and how to fix it and not make that same mistake again.
It’s like a punishment over trying to get better.
”That has worked for Huggins over the years but you can see in recent seasons that it wasn’t always accepted for what it is meant to be.
“It’s like you’re so scared of messing up that it makes you want to learn on your own how to do the right thing,” Bridges said.
It was completely evident, for example, that shooting guard Sean McNeil lost all of his confidence as the year went on.“I feel like a lot of guys, myself included, got caught up in the rough love and tried to be too perfect..
When you try to play too perfect, that’s when you are walking on eggshells and not going to be able to perform,” Bridges said.
Bridges felt he was being misused, his concept of himself being different than Huggins’ and the fans’ concept of him.“Everybody talking about me like I’m a big. I ain’t ever been a damn big my entire life.
I was a shooting guard in high school,” he said.
WVU had McNeil and Taz Sherman as shooting guards, which sent Bridges off hunting for shots he could make.
“I felt in the offense I had to hunt shots and that’s not me; never been me,” he said. “I had to force shots up to get a look.”He didn’t sulk.
He always put forth effort.“I bought in,” he said. “I tried to guard. I may not be the best defender but I’m at least a prideful defender and going to at least try to stop my man from scoring. If I’m in the game, I’m going to play hard. That’s how I look at it.
”It made for a strange mix, for he would work before practice and after practice with his dad, Cory, but the emphasis there seemed to be on skills that he wasn’t being allowed to use in the games.
Then, when two seven-game losing streaks erased a 13-2 start, everything came undone.
Social media was on everyone and the team concept was torn apart from within.
“It’s going to be the same elsewhere but those two seven-game losing streaks and the negativity with it just made a bad situation worse,” he said.
“Y’all could tell, we was checked out. You could see it on our face.“It was like we were playing, but when the other started a 4-0 run we started walking around out there and laying down. We were just checked out; everybody mentally checked out.
”They tried to correct it themselves but the leadership just wasn’t there.“We had team meetings. We broke it down. It was like break ‘em down, then build it back up ... but you’ll are forgetting to build us back up,” Bridges said.
” You guys are just drilling us. If you all are telling us we’re not this and we’re not that and it’s not working, why not switch it up and try a different approach?”
And so he decided to leave.
It wasn’t an easy decision but he approached it in a businesslike fashion
He denies the NIL money entered into it, revealing he had one offer that would have paid him $500,000.“I could have gone somewhere and got half a mill,” he said. “But how long is that going to last compared to a lifetime in the NBA.
That’s generational money. I’m not thinking short term. I’m thinking long term.“I’m thinking I’m going to go somewhere and get rich in college. A lot of people would have done that. I’m trying to take care of family for years and years to come.
My grandmother is 70 and she’s still working, both of them. That’s not cool to me.”So, he worked his way through his possibilities and came down to Alabama and Baylor. It was all about basketball, his opportunity and the style of play.He eliminated Alabama, saying he had too much fun on his visit there, which translated into there being too many things that would distract him from his basketball.“It was a basketball decision,” he said.
“From guarding them and knowing the plays they run, I could see myself cutting off those screens. That was hell to guard. I just wanted to go where there was opportunity, where the play style fit me and I could lock in.“When you look at from a fit and opportunity standpoint, they have two for sure and potentially three guys in the NBA draft. That’s a lot of minutes that are available. I’m already familiar with the Big 12 venues.
I know what’s what. I know what everybody runs. When you look it from a fit perspective, it’s really a very easy decision.”The hardest part of it is moving away from home.“You guys know me. I’m a great dude, bro. I’m never getting in trouble, but people out there are trying to assassinate my character because I made a decision that doesn’t even affect them.
Do you think I want to leave here. I’ve been here my whole life. If I’m really being honest, I would love to stay here, but it’s just so far gone ... got to move along, brother,” he said.The other day, he let some of the frustration get to him and took heat over a Tweet where he said the fans don’t matter.
That, he said, was not what he was trying to say.“The Tweet I had the other day about ‘fans don’t matter’, it wasn’t saying nobody cares about the fans. It was that their opinions don’t matter enough to make someone transfer out. It’s deeper than that. There were some deeper problems and that’s why I transferred,” he said.
Follow @bhertzel on Twitter
see more at: Fairmont times
Last edit: 2 years 6 months ago by wvu4u2.
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