Jimmy Bell Jr. Reported to transfer to Moberly Community College

[SluSignGuy]

A reader of the message board brought to my attention that Jimmy Bell Jr. is to transfer from SLU.  Local news report here:

https://www.moberlymonitor.com/story/sports/2021/07/14/d-transfers-mendes-bell-akot-toppin-join-moberly-greyhounds/7962949002/

[ACE]

I figured something like this or an injury was going down with our recruitment of another big. I don't think there was going to be a lot of playing time for him with Okoro and Linnsen. Good look Jimmy.

[NH]

Dang, that is too bad. Wishing the best of luck to Jimmy and hope he lands with a good program eventually. I don’t want to say the writing was on the wall but from the time we brought in Linssen/Okoro that position became very crowded.

[wgstl]

I hate this.   Okoro is starting to develop an outside shot, would loved to have Bell play the 5 if this becomes a thing with Okoro next year. 

[slufanskip]

I'm sorry to see him go, I wish him the best and believe he'll have a good career were ever he lands. 

[cheeseman]

Ultimately a player makes the decision about how much playing time he gets and whether that time meets his expectations.  He seemed like a good kid and wishing him luck is what he deserves.  The bringing in of Okoro and Linssen were simply the coach doing what needed to be done based on a player's development.  The only bad thing is wasn't Bell the one who stepped on GJ's foot and broke it in practice?

[stmdragons]

Played a pivotal role in one of my favorite games from the ‘19-20 season at Rhode Island. Not a huge blow to next years team, but still bummed regardless. 

[HoosierPal]

Interesting that an academic Junior is going to JC.  The "free year" obviously translates to Bell being classified as a sophomore for athletics.  i wonder what Junior level courses he can find at Moberly.  I"m confident this has been thought out, and that he has a plan for his next step after Moberly. 

[billiken_roy]

i loved the potential that bell had.  of course it is obvious he is behind linssen and okoro and okoro is going to play the next two years in the middle.   so Bell saw the writing on the wall so who can blame him.   i wish him luck.   

[Slu let the dogs out?]

Gosh dern. How many open spots for the upcoming season now? 2?

[RUBillsFan]

Ugh.  Bummed about this because Jimmy seemed like such a good dude.  Always smiling / positive attitude / hard worker.  It isn't a huge loss on the court, but does leave a hole in the roster barring a late transfer or signing of a big. 

Jimmy has shown promise and is a solid post player, but I don't think he was going to turn into a star player.  One of his comps on KenPom is Reed Nikko for Mizzou which seems about right.  Solid depth big.

Our only traditional post players for next season are now Okoro and Linssen.  Doubtful we see many traditional 2 big lineups next season without any depth behind those guys.  Linssen was very foul prone last year and has been throughout his career.  Okoro a bit less so during his career, but more foul prone than French was.  I'm concerned about foul trouble for both our bigs and where that leaves us.  It is a guard / wing game for sure nowadays and the A10 has traditionally been a guard league.  However, there are definitely A10 guys who I don't want to see Perkins, Hargrove, etc. trying to guard on  a regular basis.

[WVBilliken]

Transfer portal closed right.  Seems JC because Bell made a late decision to me.  Or could Ford be "farming" him out a year to get him PT and development?  If Jimmy really loves being at SLU is that a possibility?

[billiken_roy]

totally roy's guess, nothing to base it on, but i would guess that the billikens already have their 3rd "big" and bell saw the writing on the wall.  

[cheeseman]

26 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

Interesting that an academic Junior is going to JC.  The "free year" obviously translates to Bell being classified as a sophomore for athletics.  i wonder what Junior level courses he can find at Moberly.  I"m confident this has been thought out, and that he has a plan for his next step after Moberly. 

This not meant to be a knock on Bell but it is possible that this decision was made for more than just playing time.  He may have been meeting the minimum credit hours and that would leave him plenty of wiggle room for taking JC courses especially if he had not declared a major yet.

[HoosierPal]

7 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

Transfer portal closed right.  Seems JC because Bell made a late decision to me.  Or could Ford be "farming" him out a year ti get him PT and development?  If Jimmy really loves being at SLU is that a possibility?

This thought crossed my mind too.  But is this Mr. Bell's free transfer?  Would he have to sit out or get a waiver for his next move? 

[WVBilliken]

1 minute ago, HoosierPal said:

This thought crossed my mind too.  But is this Mr. Bell's free transfer?  Would he have to sit out or get a waiver for his next move? 

He's going JC, not D1.  So don't think a year sit out is required.

[BilliesBy40]

17 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

totally roy's guess, nothing to base it on, but i would guess that the billikens already have their 3rd "big" and bell saw the writing on the wall.  

I hope you are right but I doubt our new 3rd big will be as good as Jimmy. 

[wgstl]

10 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

He's going JC, not D1.  So don't think a year sit out is required.

Ya I thought you only waste a year if its a lateral move or upping a division.

[willie]

I am actually surprised he waited this long. His body language on the bench was that of a player who was not happy. I for one think he was underused. 

[BilliesBy40]

2 minutes ago, wgstl said:

Ya I thought you only waste a year if its a lateral move or upping a division.

He won’t have to sit out at either point, but of course he will use a year of eligibility at the JUCO

[majerus mojo]

We're too deep on the wing to consistently play 2 bigs + Yuri. Good luck to Jimmy. 

[Fraz]

Could see Jimmy switching back to football.  Was 3 star OT coming out of high school and had a couple MAC offers.  

[CBFan]

Very surprised with this late transfer I was interested to see how much he developed over the summer.

I think Jimmy was not used enough however last season based on what I saw I did not see that Jimmy’s skills improved.

I appreciate Jimmy’s contributions especially his freshman season against Richmond and Rhode Island.  I appreciated Jimmy’s free throw shooting to close out games.

Best wishes Jimmy I will follow you where ever you go and hope you score lots of points, grab lots of rebounds, and block a lot of shots.

Be well big man

[HoosierPal]

1 hour ago, cheeseman said:

This not meant to be a knock on Bell but it is possible that this decision was made for more than just playing time.  He may have been meeting the minimum credit hours and that would leave him plenty of wiggle room for taking JC courses especially if he had not declared a major yet.

He made the A10 Commissioners Honor Roll last season so academics don’t appear to be an issue. His major was listed as Sports Business on the Roster. 

[Cowboy]

-good luck Jimmy, sorry to see you go, you have a ton of potential, turn that into something

-interesting he is not going to a JC closer to his home