Bell needs to step it up

[Lukeyloo]

Bell continues to be reliant on others creating and getting him open. He just doesn’t work hard on the offensive or defensive end. If he’s not hitting shots, he’s a massive negative.

His shooting has been awful to start the year, but IIRC he started shooting poorly last year too before turning it on. This seems to be a trend for him. Here’s hoping he starts being a positive out there for us sooner rather than later.

 

[cusefan88]

Bell continues to be reliant on others creating and getting him open. He just doesn’t work hard on the offensive or defensive end. If he’s not hitting shots, he’s a massive negative.

His shooting has been awful to start the year, but IIRC he started shooting poorly last year too before turning it on. This seems to be a trend for him. Here’s hoping he starts being a positive out there for us sooner rather than later.

He's very athletic and usually a better shooter but my goodness he doesn't know how to play basketball. He's a frustrating player because he could be so much more but he doesn't have that drive at all.

 

[billsin01]

He's very athletic and usually a better shooter but my goodness he doesn't know how to play basketball. He's a frustrating player because he could be so much more but he doesn't have that drive at all.

He’s an AAU posterchild. I think he seems to be a pretty good kid. He’s got some solid athleticism and he’s a fantastic shooter.

But it’s clear he spent long stretches of his young basketball career camped out on the wing waiting to be fed for threes and then celebrating each make and being miserable after each miss. There is very little to suggest he truly understands the game and where to be on the floor.

This is harsh. Kid should be fine, but I’m not sure I’ll ever quite view him as a ‘Basketball Player’. Feels destined to always be a ‘shooter’.

 

[jdubs30]

He’s an AAU posterchild. I think he seems to be a pretty good kid. He’s got some solid athleticism and he’s a fantastic shooter.

But it’s clear he spent long stretches of his young basketball career camped out on the wing waiting to be fed for threes and then celebrating each make and being miserable after each miss. There is very little to suggest he truly understands the game and where to be on the floor.

This is harsh. Kid should be fine, but I’m not sure I’ll ever quite view him as a ‘Basketball Player’. Feels destined to always be a ‘shooter’.

He has started every game he’s been here. 66 games. He’s a junior. His attitude and whining still boggles my mind - and the fact that Red keeps him out there while he does it make it even worse. It’s a terrible precedent to set. That’s not a good culture.

His laziness once cost us several possessions last night. I understand you have to see if he’s hot from 3 - but he’s 6/24 from there this year so give me someone else who will do more on the floor and play with a better attitude. He is so hard to watch

 

[djcon57]

Since the last post in this thread...

Chris Bell has gone 2 for 19 from 3 and missed his last 13 3's I believe

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Since the last post in this thread...

Chris Bell has gone 2 for 19 from 3 and missed his last 13 3's I believe

The dude's broken.

 

[UpstateSM]

The dude's broken.

He needs you now more than ever, OiG.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

He needs you now more than ever, OiG.

The dude that tied our single game three pointers made record is still in there.

I don't know if we'll ever see that player in a Syracuse uniform again. He needs a sports psychologist to help him get right.

He might need a fresh start somewhere else. Even that might not matter.

 

[Scooch]

I think recruiting Josh Wright over Kyle Lowry is right up there.

Sure. Yet we won 95 games over Josh Wright’s 4 years.

 

[jdubs30]

he’s not even engaged anymore. He barely even whines to the refs. The downfall has been crazy (and I didn’t have high expectations for him in the first place). It’s an obvious indictment on Red and his development as well.

 

[Scooch]

35% from three on decent volume, 43% from three on high volume, to then 22% is just not a trajectory one sees.

Ever really.

He just stopped shooting this season, let alone making. 50 attempts in 12 games. 5 or more attempts in just 5 of his 12 games. A max of 8 in a game, which he’s done twice.

Last year he took 5 or more attempts in 23 of his 32 games. He had 9 games with 9 or more attempts.

It really strikes me that (a) he was encouraged all offseason to be more than a 3 point shooter, and (b) once he started missing he’s gone completely into a shell.

Looks like the mistake was ever asking him to do more than just shoot 3s. It’s both screwed him up and and screwed the team up. Another poor talent evaluation by this staff.

 

[djcon57]

He just stopped shooting this season, let alone making. 50 attempts in 12 games. 5 or more attempts in just 5 of his 12 games. A max of 8 in a game, which he’s done twice.

Last year he took 5 or more attempts in 23 of his 32 games. He had 9 games with 9 or more attempts.

It really strikes me that (a) he was encouraged all offseason to be more than a 3 point shooter, and (b) once he started missing he’s gone completely into a shell.

Looks like the mistake was ever asking him to do more than just shoot 3s. It’s both screwed him up and and screwed the team up. Another poor talent evaluation by this staff.

This is a really great point. Could also be he felt more comfortable playing with Judah and Q and Maliq. Felt like he know where they’d be and where they would get him the ball. And even the GMac thing.

I think bottom line is to me his mins were skewed the last two years which helped volume of shots. A normal above average team doesn’t play a guy who literally can’t defend or rebound as much as him. They just don’t

 

[richmondcuse03]

35% from three on decent volume, 43% from three on high volume, to then 22% is just not a trajectory one sees.

Ever really.

Seems like it’s all in his head. He posted that photo the other day from the ball machine and it’s quite telling. He needs a confidence boost and nothing is dropping in games.

 

[PhatOrange]

I think recruiting Josh Wright over Kyle Lowry is right up there.

We whiffed on some highly rated point guards for sure but at least they were HS kids. This staff evaluated a college kid playing at Hofstra (gulp) and said, yep, this kid can lead us through the ACC.

 

[Niastri]

35% from three on decent volume, 43% from three on high volume, to then 22% is just not a trajectory one sees.

Ever really.

I too was all in on Bell this season.

It is kind of tragic watching his difficulties. I figured even in the worst case scenario, Bell was going to continue to be a reliable three point shooter that had to be covered.

I can't decide whether to blame him or Red.

The decline is nearly unprecedented.

 

[chuck]

Sure. Yet we won 95 games over Josh Wright’s 4 years.

Facts!!

 

[Cappy3]

Facts!!

To be fair, it had little to do with him. He only started 27 games, was never very effective, and only played 4 games his final year. Really can’t credit him with many of those 95 wins.

 

[Scooch]

To be fair, it had little to do with him. He only started 27 games, was never very effective, and only played 4 games his final year. Really can’t credit him with many of those 95 wins.

My point was that back in the day we could withstand a bad personnel decision because we had so much other high end talent up and down the roster.

These days we field an entire team where no one would crack the 8 man rotation of back then.

 

[wiCuse]

Woah woah woah!

There is a lot of season left.

Last year, through 22 games, Bell was shooting 36% and had just come off an 0 for 7 drought shooting threes. He ended the season in 52% hot streak over ten games, making 37 threes.

I'm not saying the same thing is going to happen again, clearly there are things going on affecting his game...

But he's had cold streaks before, and come out of them like gangbusters.

You're allowed to like or dislike a player as much as you like, of course.

But Bell might have something left.

I get what you're saying. I hope he turns it around. It's more about his attitude and effort. He doesn't impact the game outside of his shooting. Bell doesn't hunt for his shots or invest any effort on the defensive end. I honestly feel bad for him.

 

[jdubs30]

Woah woah woah!

There is a lot of season left.

Last year, through 22 games, Bell was shooting 36% and had just come off an 0 for 7 drought shooting threes. He ended the season in 52% hot streak over ten games, making 37 threes.

I'm not saying the same thing is going to happen again, clearly there are things going on affecting his game...

But he's had cold streaks before, and come out of them like gangbusters.

You're allowed to like or dislike a player as much as you like, of course.

But Bell might have something left.

36% is pretty good over a 22 game stretch. He’s shooting 22% this year.

 

[Niastri]

36% is pretty good over a 22 game stretch. He’s shooting 22% this year.

Yup... Clearly this isn't just a run of the mill cold streak.

I was confident Bell would be alright a few weeks ago. As recently as Albany, Dec 10th, Bell went for 18 and 6. A few weeks before that, he had his best game of the season against Texas Tech.

There were always reasons to believe he'd recover.

Now I'm not so sure.

 

[Bulldog04]

I too was all in on Bell this season.

It is kind of tragic watching his difficulties. I figured even in the worst case scenario, Bell was going to continue to be a reliable three point shooter that had to be covered.

I can't decide whether to blame him or Red.

The decline is nearly unprecedented.

Trust me I was too. I went to 3 practices before season started and I saw him miss 1 three pointer in each of the three practices. 1! I thought he was going to sky rocket this year. Wild

 

[grepal]

Trust me I was too. I went to 3 practices before season started and I saw him miss 1 three pointer in each of the three practices. 1! I thought he was going to sky rocket this year. Wild

I am at a loss. Unless he has a vision problem maybe a sports psychologist would help. This has to be in his head now. He is way to good a shooter for this.

 

[ssbriefcase]

Trust me I was too. I went to 3 practices before season started and I saw him miss 1 three pointer in each of the three practices. 1! I thought he was going to sky rocket this year. Wild

And that was the expectation in general. Anyone acting like it was a total miss and blaming the staff etc. is out of their minds. There are things that are arguable; worst SU pg ever, worst SU team ever. One things for sure; there's never been a player to vanish like Bell. Name me someone that anyone thought wouldn't improve at that output, let alone drop off like he did. It's a true vanishing act.

 

[tptcuse]

And that was the expectation in general. Anyone acting like it was a total miss and blaming the staff etc. is out of their minds. There are things that are arguable; worst SU pg ever, worst SU team ever. One things for sure; there's never been a player to vanish like Bell. Name me someone that anyone thought wouldn't improve at that output, let alone drop off like he did. It's a true vanishing act.

It's fair when people argue that Red shouldn't have built the team around Bell. Or that his defense and rebounding would not improve. But nobody here predicted his shooting would be like this. It is an unbelievable vanishing act.