The Nova Notebook, by director of media relations Mike Sheridan, introduces the Nova Nation to one of the new faces among the Wildcats, Mikal Bridges.

The story is one that Mikal Bridges can't verify himself but has been assured is authentic by his father, Jack.

His age at the time isn't precisely recalled but the basic outlines of the story are clear. Young Mikal was quite literally bouncing on his father's knee at a basketball game one day when his eyes became focused upon all of the activity before him.

So it was a family legend of sorts was born.

Boy Meets Ball and Sees His Future, if you will.

"I was a baby, only a few months old," says Bridges now with a knowing smile after having heard the tale more than a few times. "He told me that I was sitting on his lap and all you could see were my eyes, watching the ball go back and forth. Then he's telling all of his buddies that his son was really watching the game.

"At that point, he said, this guy's definitely going to be a basketball player."

Though it isn't easy to draw a straight line from that day until now, with Bridges engaged in a transition to BIG EAST basketball, there is truth in this. The willingness to observe and absorb at a young age is again serving the newcomer from Great Valley High School well.

"It's a big jump from high school to college," says the 6-7 Bridges. "It's very intense now as we get closer to the start of the season. Being here in the summer helped out a lot. I feel like it's going well."

Bridges joins a Wildcats unit that welcomes seven of its top nine returning players back from a 29-win team that claimed the BIG EAST regular season championship. It's a backdrop that seems to work well for Bridges, a developing talent with an exciting upside who may not be finished growing.

"I don't want to say high school came easy but it helped that I was just bigger than everyone I played against," he states. "It made life so much easier. But, now, I'm like the underdog here. I have to play really hard every possession."

Although weight lifting isn't new to Bridges - he did some of it in high school - the scope of the approach at the collegiate level has been a revelation.

"I used to lift but those were just regular lifts," says Bridges. "Here, you have strength and conditioning - you are conditioning while you lift. On the first day here I was so tired. Now, I just feel like I'm getting stronger."

The fact is Bridges enters Villanova on the slight side in his sport of choice, listed at 192 pounds. That presents an immediate challenge at a level where strength is essential.

"I'm not getting pushed around like I was when I first got here," he says. "Now I feel like I'm holding my own. Being in the weight room has helped and learning the techniques of how to stay low on defense and rebounding."

As much as he has always had a passion for the game, his emergence as an elite player came relatively late in the process and coincided with a growth spurt. Prior to that Bridges was mostly viewed as a solid, hard-working sort whose tools didn't tend to wow observers. Instead of thundering dunks, his calling card featured more subtle cuts or passes while moving without the basketball.

After spending one year at Archbishop Carroll High School, Bridges enrolled at Great Valley High School. The coach at Great Valley, Jim Nolan, told his young charge that he had a chance to do something special with the game but that it would take considerable toil. Bridges averaged 10 ppg as a sophomore yet there wasn't much fuss being made about him among outsiders.

"The recruiting process for me didn't really pick up until my junior year," he notes.

In the summer between his sophomore and junior years at Great Valley, Bridges immersed himself in the game. As a junior in 2012-13, things began to fall into place and his ascent began to attract notice from the Division I coaching fraternity, especially after a breakthrough performance in the EYBL AAU event with Team Final in the spring of his junior year.

"That spring and summer (2013)," he says, "was big for me."

In some ways, the sudden attention caught Bridges off guard.

"It was a surprise," he states. "Growing up, I would always watch my friends talk to these college coaches. Now, these coaches were calling me."

The excitement level ticked up a notch when Villanova's Jay Wright entered the picture, according to Bridges.

"All my friends were diehard Villanova fans," says Bridges. "So when I told them about Villanova, they were really excited. I was too."

It wasn't long before the Wildcats were atop Bridges' list of college options and the proximity to home didn't hurt Villanova's chances.

"I liked the idea of being close to home so my family can see me play," states Bridges. "This was the right fit."

Bridges may have become a Top 100 prospect in his class as a senior but his late arrival did not limit his options. Evaluators saw a burgeoning prospect with an intriguing skill set. Those gifts include a smooth jump shoot and a knack for finding open spaces offensively.

"I think I move really well without the basketball," he explains. "I'm not the type of player who needs the ball in my hands to score. One of the things I'm working on now is ball-handling."

One element that should benefit Bridges in his new surroundings is his grasp of the game. As a young player, he didn't have the advantage of height to lean on. That forced him to learn the essentials and he believes he also was well served by the style of offense he played at Great Valley, where a premium was placed on ball and player movement.

"I used to be a real steady guard when I was younger," he recalls. "Then, when I got to high school, I played every other position because I could do everything. My coach taught me the game. People didn't always like our offense in high school because it was pass and cut. He stressed team and that was great for me. I'm a big team player and I think I learned a lot about moving without the ball in that offense.

"I'm happy that happened because bringing that knowledge here has helped me."

At a tender age, Mikal Bridges focused his young eyes on the ball. Now, he's eager to use the knowledge and skills he has developed in the years since to make his own mark on Villanova Basketball.