Jimmy Bell playing his part in Bulldogs' success

In the new age of college athletics, finding players like Jimmy Bell is becoming scarce.

Whether it be NIL money or more playing time, not many players are willing to simply play the role that’s needed to help the team. The West Virginia graduate transfer is doing just that for Mississippi State and it’s been a saving grace for the Bulldogs.

There was no way for Chris Jans to predict just how valuable that Bell would be when he recruited him, but he’s already exceeding expectations. Bell was recruited to be a player to spell star center Tolu Smith for some minutes, but his importance grew when Smith went down with an injury in the preseason, and he missed the first 12 games of the season.

Bell averaged 9.6 points and 9.4 rebounds during that time frame, earned himself SEC Player of the Week honors after scoring 17 points and pulling down 18 rebounds against Rutgers and he helped State to a 10-2 record.

“He provided so much. He got us a lot of wins,” Smith said of Bell’s impact. “Without those wins, we wouldn’t even be looking into March. I congratulate Jimmy. I’m always with him and we always talked about what we were going to do when I got back and the things that we wanted to achieve. We’re going to keep striving.”

Bell adapts to new role in SEC play

Since Smith’s return, Bell’s role has obviously been diminished. Smith is playing at an All-SEC level again averaging 19.7 points and 11 rebounds a game with two double-doubles in six games. The last two games for Smith have logged 26 and 25 points respectively.

In that stretch since Smith’s return, Bell has certainly faded into the background a bit. He hasn’t scored more than six points in the last six games, but his work ethic and mindset hasn’t changed. He’s in Starkville to do whatever it takes to win.

“That’s what I came here to do. When I started here I had a bigger role and now I’m back to what the expectation was,” Bell said of his role on the team. “Now it’s time to get rolling, win these games and be down there with Tolu.”

In State’s win over Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon, Bell spelled Smith for nearly 10 minutes in the first half and scored four points while pulling down seven rebounds. It might seem pedestrian in some sense, but it’s exactly what State needs to help out its SEC Player of the Year candidate.

For Jans, he couldn’t ask for anything more than what he’s gotten from the 6’10, 280-pound big man from Saginaw, Mich. And while he no longer carries the importance of a starting center, his impact is still as important as ever to the Bulldogs’ success.

“I’m on record multiple times that I’m not sure where we’d be without Jimmy Bell,” Jans said. “Certainly, you can’t plan for any injuries, but I’d don’t know where our team would be – he’s a Godsend for us. I knew that once Tolu got back, there would be no issues with him. He’s all business, he’s a great kid, he gets it.

“He was very productive today. He had seven rebounds and four points in 10 minutes. He’s going to have big games so we’re really glad he’s with us.”