Ohio Dominican Assistant Ready to Take Over
May 5, 2004
Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATACH
Jeff Bridges could feel pressure becoming a head coach at the college level
for the first time at the tender age of 33.
The way the new Ohio Dominican men's basketball coach looks at it, however,
he already has made his debut.
Last season, he led Ohio Dominican to a 56-51 upset of Rio Grande in the
first round of the American Mideast Conference Tournament when coach Dan Priest
was watching his third child being born.
"That was baptism by fire," Bridges said yesterday. "That was a great
experience and a tremendous opportunity. But I did do the same thing two
years earlier when another of Dan's children was being born.
I think both times the players respected me and played hard because I
had been around them. I helped recruit all of them."
Priest, who resigned to coach at Hendrix (Ark.) College, expects his assistant
of four years to make a smooth transition.
"Jeff should win his first seven games because I set him up with an easy
schedule," Priest said, laughing. "He's going to do a really good job. He knows
these players and he knows the conference. I predict nothing but success for him."
Priest left the program in good standing with a 90-71 record in five seasons
that included a trip to the NAIA Tournament in 2002.
The team had only one senior last season. Bridges thinks the team could begin
making strides because of an aggressive five-year campaign by university president
Jack Calareso that plans to increase enrollment from 2,600 to 5,000.
Three dormitories will be built. "We're also starting a football team, and all
of these things will help recruiting," Bridges said.
Bridges, a Wauseon native and 1993 Defiance College graduate, was coach at
Ovid-Elsie High School in Lansing, Mich., and Groveport before he was hired at Ohio
Dominican.
The Panthers' style of play won't change drastically under Bridges.
"I'll put my stamp on some things we do, but our trademark will continue to
be aggressive man-to-man defense," he said.
Reprinted with permission. The Columbus Dispatch, 2004
