MORGANTOWN — West Virginia took another step toward remaking the basketball roster next season with a commitment from Moberly Area C.C. (Mo.) big man Jimmy Bell.
Bell, at 6-foot-10 and 280 pounds, selected the Mountaineers over offers from Oakland, East Tennessee State and Sam Houston State. The Saginaw, Mich., native moved squarely onto the radar for the Big 12 program after impressing at the NJCAA Tournament.
Head coach Bob Huggins along with assistant Erik Martin served as the lead recruiters for Bell and the pair established a strong bond with the junior college big.
Bell is coming off a season where he averaged 9 points and 9.1 rebounds per contest for his junior college team while shooting 59% from the field. He has previous experience at the division one level as Bell attended St. Louis prior to heading to Moberly. There, he appeared in 50 games for the Billikens, averaging 3.1 points and 2.6 rebounds on 49% shooting.
“They like my physical toughness, how hard I play and my ability to block shots,” he said.
Bell took an official visit to Morgantown over the weekend and saw enough during the experience to offer his commitment to the Big 12 program. The Mountaineers were the largest program in the mix and he was highly impressed with the facilities as well as his fit in the program.
Bell is a big-bodied physical presence in the post that has the size and toughness that the Mountaineers needed to find on the recruiting trail.
Overall, Bell is the seventh new commitment joining River Grove (Ill.) Triton College forward Patrick Suemnick, Bryn Mawr (Pa.) Harcum College center Mohamed Wague, Scott Depot Teays Valley Christian School guard Josiah Davis, Cleveland (Ohio) Richmond Heights forward Josiah Harris, South Carolina guard transfer Erik Stevenson and Iowa point guard transfer Joe Toussaint.
Each of those players outside of Bell have already signed with the program.
WVU now has one scholarship remaining in the 2022 class if the rest of the roster stays in-tact.
By KEENAN CUMMINGS
