Jalen Bridges to Return to Baylor Bears for Senior Season
Baylor Bears forward Jalen Bridges announced late Wednesday that he was withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft and returning to the Bears for another season.
Stadium’s Jeff Goodman reported Bridges’ decision. While Bridges took his name out of the hat for the NBA Draft, Goodman reported that Bridges considered playing pro basketball in Australia.
Bridges put his name in the draft pool earlier this spring in an attempt to gauge what his chances were of getting drafted. Like many players, he retained his eligibility in case he decided to return to college.
Bridges ended up at Baylor last season after spending his first two collegiate seasons with West Virginia. With the Bears he averaged 10.3 points and 5.6 rebounds last season.
For his collegiate career, Bridges has averaged 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 47.4 percent from the field. But his season in Waco was the best single season of his career.
The Bears and head coach Scott Drew are remaking their roster this offseason. The Bears have lost guards Dale Bonner, LJ Cryer and Jordan Turner to the transfer portal. Guards Adam Flagler and Keyonte George are headed to the NBA. Center Zach Loveday transferred, while forward Flo Thamba ran out of eligibility.
The Bears expect to have back guard Langston Love, along with forwards Josh Ojianwuna, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Caleb Lohner.
Baylor has taken in guards Jayden Nunn and RayJ Dennis through the transfer portal. The Bears also have a great recruiting class coming in that includes guard Ja’Kobe Walter, guard Miro Little and center Yves Messi.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
