Mississippi State basketball big man enters football transfer portal
Mississippi State basketball player Jimmy Bell Jr. is looking to play football elsewhere after spending the spring with the Bulldog football program.
Bell measures 6-10, 280 pounds. He transferred from West Virginia, where he spent time with the football team but did not play, to Mississippi State. In the 2023-24 basketball season, Bell played in 34 games for Chris Jans’ squad, making 15 starts.
On the hardwood, Bell scored 168 points (4.9 per game), adding 167 rebounds (4.9 per game). His most memorable Mississippi State performance came on Dec. 23 against Rutgers when he posted season-highs of 18 rebounds and 17 points over 30 minutes. For the year, Bell averaged 15.5 minutes per game.
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Bell did not join the MSU football team until basketball season came to a close. First-year football head coach Jeff Lebby expressed excitement about having Bell on the team.
“He’s a giant,” Lebby told reporters. “Natural length, big guy. Big people have tended to have success in this game. That’s where it starts.”
“We’ll get him some good work,” Lebby added. “We’re going to take some baby steps with him and make sure we’re setting him up for success. It’ll be a little bit slower of a process than some others guys with, obviously, him coming off the hardwood. Love the fact that he wants to be out here after a long season. He’s ready to get out there and get going. It says a lot about him.”
Bell is looking to contribute on the offensive line. When he took part in West Virginia’s spring practice in 2023, Mountaineers coach Neal Brown noted that Bell was having to adjust to being able to use his hands.
“The biggest difference is we can use our hands in this game,” Brown told reporters. “And (offensive line) coach (Matt) Moore tells him – I’ve heard him say it multiple times this week, ‘hey, you’re not going to foul out. There’s no foul outs in this game.’ So, just him getting used to punching and the importance of ball get off.”
Bell has had quite the journey as a student-athlete, playing for Saint Louis for two seasons before transferring to Moberly (Missouri) Area Community College and then West Virginia followed by Mississippi State. Bell has exhausted his basketball eligibility but can play a season of college football in 2024.
Bell lacks football experience, but his size may land him another opportunity.
Mississippi State basketball center Jimmy Bell has entered the transfer portal for football, @chris_hummer and I have learned for @247Sports.
The 6-foot-10, 280-pound Bell, who made 16 starts in basketball, spent spring working with the football team as an offensive tackle.… pic.twitter.com/EAz3c3iugq
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) April 29, 2024
Nothing on the commitment of Booth out of Utah State. Not surprising.
I figured I would check in after about 3 weeks to see if a new State article came up. I had low expectations. Sure enough the latest article is about a backup center who ran out of eligibility and has one season of football eligibility remaining who is leaving State to go to place where he might be able to get playing time. There is literally no ongoing story related to State and it’s sports programs. This story offers zero benefit to the fan. So why would SDS spend time writing this one instead of writing a story that might draw followers from an entire area? It logically makes no sense. What’s the point of a blog site if it doesn’t encourage the reader to return?
It’s like having a rowboat with a paddle. Except the rower is swinging the paddle in the air to make the boat go instead of paddling through the water.
If you listen to the SDS podcast, it’s obvious they’ve determined State isn’t worth covering this year. I don’t know if Conor O’Gara is butthurt over getting the Arnett prediction so wrong that he decided they would barely cover the Bulldogs this season.