Bellevue's Aaron Bright Leads Stanford to NIT Title, Named Tournament MVP

NEW YORK-Fittingly on Broadway, Aaron Bright proved he is more than a supporting actor.

The Bellevue product cemented his place as a legitimate star, and on a championship team, nonetheless.

Bright collected a team-high 15 points and six assists to help Stanford trounce Minnesota, 75-51, to capture the NIT Championship on Thursday. It's the Cardinal's second tournament crown.

Playing in front of a crowd of 5,494 at Madison Square Garden, Bright again orchestrated a controlled game, one in which he didn't force the offense but capitalized nearly every time he got the ball.

He went 4-for-7 from the field, including making a pair of 3-pointers and all five of his free throws. In addition to leading the team in assists, he collected four rebounds. Just as importantly, he committed only two turnovers in 25 minutes of play.

For Bright - a 5-foot-11 point guard who will be a junior next year - his NIT performance showed why he could be the cream of the Pac-12 Conference's point guard crop.

With his team coming off a disappointing loss in the conference tournament that eliminated Stanford's NCAA Tournament hopes, Bright used the NIT to showcase his skills.

The Cardinal's assist leader and second most-prolific scorer during the regular season averaged 16.8 points during the NIT, five points more than his regular-season average. He also averaged 4.2 assists and was one of Stanford's biggest outside threats, making 12 baskets from behind the arc.

After Thursday's title victory, Bright was asked what it meant for his team to have such a convincing win on such a large stage.

"It's great, I've been telling everybody it's great for next year, too," Bright said. "It's great for our seniors to go out like that and hopefully it carries into the offseason for us and we'll just continue to work hard."

"We know what it takes to win the tournament now," he added. "We won five in a row, and I think we are going to use this experience for next year and making a run at the March Madness."

If the former Wolverine continues his tournament-level play into next season, he and Stanford could be making a deep run in an even bigger tournament.