MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — By now, WVU freshman forward Jalen Bridges has heard most of the jokes from his teammates concerning time.
Sure enough, he’s got plenty of it.
“Talking to (Bridges) and joking with him about being a redshirt freshman,” WVU guard Deuce McBride said. “He’s going to be here for six years.”
That is courtesy of a ruling passed by the Division I Council this year that granted an extra year of eligibility to college athletes playing winter sports, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Bridges’ case, he was a true freshman last season who was redshirted, meaning he could practice and travel with the Mountaineers, but couldn’t play in games.
“It was super challenging to just sit there and watch,” the former Fairmont Senior standout said. “I’ve been playing all of my life, so to just sit there and watch was a difficult challenge.
“I feel like I learned a lot and put myself in a good position. I know what’s going on. I’ve gotten stronger and I feel like I know how to play at this level now.”
He is eligible to play this season as a redshirt freshman and no matter how well he performs, Bridges will come back and play again during the 2021-22 season still as a freshman.
Theoretically, Bridges could graduate college as a sophomore, or, more to the point of the razzing of his teammates, could begin collecting social security by his senior year.
“It’s really super unique,” Bridges said. “My situation, obviously, I was redshirted, so I’m a freshman again this year and then I’ll be a freshman again next year, which is kind of weird.
“I don’t know really how to process it. I just know it’s going to be a lot of time to play for my state and have a lot of fun.”
The ruling just doesn’t effect Bridges, although it would certainly give him the potential to play a lot of games in a WVU uniform.
It could also give time back to WVU guard Sean McNeil, who took a year off from college basketball coming out of high school after withdrawing from Division II power Bellarmine in Louisville in 2017.
He returned home to Union, Ky. and enrolled at Gateway Community and Technical College, a school with no athletics.
It wasn’t until the 2018-19 season at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, that McNeil began to get recruited by Division I schools.
McNeil is now a junior at WVU, after averaging 5.5 points in 28 games with the Mountaineers last season.
But, rather than having two full seasons of eligibility remaining, McNeil could have three under the new rule.
As for seniors Taz Sherman and Gabe Osabuohien, WVU coach Bob Huggins said they would be welcomed back as seniors again next season, if they chose to do so.
“I haven’t really talked to them about it, but I don’t know why they wouldn’t do that, unless an opportunity comes their way to go make a bunch of money in Europe,” Huggins said. “At this point in time, I don’t see that happening.”
If one, or both, players decided to return to WVU next season, they would remain on scholarship, but would not count against the NCAA men’s limit of 13.
As for how WVU players plan to take advantage of the new rule, McBride admitted it hasn’t been a hot topic of conversation.
“I don’t think we’ve talked about it too much, other than maybe our seniors,” McBride said. “That may be more important to them.”
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