By Ryan Rogers
LSUsports.net
For the Tiger basketball it seemed like last season ended before it even started. Maybe it did. With the departure of Stromile Swift and Jabari Smith to the NBA, LSU was left with only one post player on its already depleted roster of only eight scholarship players. That number fell to seven before the season ever started when the Tigers’ Brad Bridgewater tore his ACL in preseason drills with the team.
Despite the incredible effort John Brady‘s squad showed all year competing in every game against the odds, LSU was not able to overcome its lack of size and LSU failed to return to the NCAA Tournament in 2001.
Now a new season has started, and this time Bridgewater will be along for the ride.
“My knee is 100 percent and I’m excited about this new season,” says Bridgewater. “I’m over the fear of getting hurt again. I played all summer and at first I was tentative, but I got past all that. My knee feels great.”
He admitted that at times, last season was too tough to watch.
“Eventually I stopped going to the home games,” adds Bridgewater. “It was just too hard to watch. I felt terrible. We were so close all year and all we needed was a big body inside. I felt so helpless on the bench.”
LSU was so close in so many games last year that no one would argue things might have been different with Bridgewater in the lineup. LSU lost eight games by less than 10 points and were in half-a-dozen more before the Tigers ran out of gas late in the game.
So what does Bridgewater bring to the table for the Tigers? Tiger fans only saw him in a reserve role two years ago.
“I think I can bring some excitement to this team,” he says. “When I played my freshmen and sophomore year, they used to call me the ‘Energizer’, because every time I got in the game I was always excited and ready to go. I would pump everyone up and try hard to make plays.”
Bridgewater is an extremely athletic big man. He has great ball skills, jumping ability and running ability. Prepping at Pointe Coupee Central High School, Bridgewater lettered in three sports and was a standout tight end and track sprinter. However, he just needs to tune his basketball skills. As Brady put it, “He’s a much better athlete than a basketball player.”
After being cleared by his doctors to play basketball full-time, Bridgewater began an intense summer workout program. He attended a camp and received coaching from a successful NBA center in Greg Ostertag of the Utah Jazz.
“He (Ostertag) has really helped me out a lot. He pulled me aside often and worked with me one on one and gave me advice on how to be a better player.”
Bridgewater worked very hard to critique many aspects of his game both under coaching and on his own. He has the desire to and will to pick up the level of his game.
He may not be ready to score 20 points a game for the Tigers, but he doesn’t need to do that. LSU has plenty of players who can score. The Tigers need a big man inside to rebound.
“Coach Brady wants me to focus on rebounding,” says Bridgewater. “That’s the big thing that we lacked last year. We have the ability to score and he told me if I can be a force rebounding then the scoring will come. He wants me to come out there with energy and play solid defense.”
Bridgewater is an imposing player weighing in a 260lbs. Most players his height in college basketball are much lighter. Then again most centers in college basketball will be a little taller as well.
“I think being physical is very important to my game,” he says. “I’m undersized for a center at 6-8, but being strong helps me make up for that. Weighing 260 helps me a lot. I have to be very physical and use my build to my advantage.”
A major factor in Bridgewater’s comeback has been the support he’s received from LSU athletic trainers and his teammates. LSU is fortunate enough to have an outstanding training facility and training staff.
“I owe my rehab to Drew Shea (LSU Trainer). He really helped me out a lot. He pushed me and at times I really thought I would never get over the injury. He kept pushing me and made me believe I could get better.”
Bridgewater received additional tutelage from a former LSU Tiger. Star Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal still keeps an eye on his alma mater and often drops in during the offseason to check out the players.
“He (Shaq) comes down every summer and works out with us. He tells me every time we play against each other, ‘you have got to get tough, you have to get mean’. He tells me I have an NBA body, I just need to work on my game and I can be really good.”
Like many other Tigers, Bridgewater is optimistic about what this team can accomplish this year.
“I think this will be a great opportunity to try and get things back to where we were two years ago,” he says. “We have a lot of new people here that are going to make an impact. We have a lot of people coming back that know what it takes to win and are capable of leading us to success.”