MORGANTOWN — Not many players improved more over the last few basketball seasons than Fairmont Senior High’s Jalen Bridges.
From his sophomore to junopr season, Bridges his improved his game by a considerable margin. He went from being a spot-up shooter to a more all-around player that has more of an impact on games.
This result led to him being named first-team all-state and the Polar Bears appearing in the Class AA state championship the last two seasons. However, he was also named the winner of the 2019 Bill Evans Award — which is given annually to the state player of the year by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
Bridges is the second player from Fairmont Senior to win the award. Taevon Horton took home the trophy last season before joining the West Virginia men’s basketball team this season as a preferred walk-on.
Bridges averaged 22.2 points a game, 6.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists during the season, and once he got to the state tournament, he he averaged 16.5 points per game and earned all-tournament team honors.
