Everyone around the Villanova program acknowledged how much Hart intentionally tried to terrorize Bridges back then. Yet, as time progressed, coaches started to view it as the best thing to happen to Bridges. Many believe it helped make him the player we see today, the one who can rise above adversity the same way his midrange jumper rises above defenders. “The Josh Hart you guys see now, he was that from Day 1,” Villanova assistant coach Ashley Howard told The Athletic. “He was fierce, tough, nasty and a competitor. Lo and behold, what ends up happening is that you get a Mikal Bridges who is a young freshman and was committed the whole year to improving his body, doing skill work and watching film. His game day was practice. His game day was against Josh Hart, this dude who we all knew was the toughest and nastiest on the floor. He made Mikal better.”
New York Times
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: “The Josh Hart you guys see now, he was that from Day …
