Ducks Revitalized by Bell's Return From Injury
12/18/15 | Men's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Three years after doing battle in practice as high school seniors, Jordan Bell and Roschon Prince can't wait to face off again Friday.
Bell and the UO men's basketball team will host Prince and Long Beach State on Friday in Matthew Knight Arena (6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks). Already energized by his return from injury last week, Bell will be facing his hometown team, and a player in Prince who was a fellow Long Beach Poly High graduate in 2013.
“Me and him are going to be going at it,” Bell said Tuesday, after scoring a career-high 12 points in the Ducks' 78-63 victory over UC Irvine. “We've been texting each other, talking mess. I'm really excited for that game.”
Likewise, UO coach Dana Altman is excited to have Bell back from offseason foot surgery that sidelined him for the first eight games of the season. Bell blocked a school-record 94 shots as a freshman last season, and gives the Ducks a physical post defender to pair with the length of new addition Chris Boucher.
Against Irvine, Bell made 6-of-10 field-goal attempts, grabbed three steals and blocked his third shot in two games back from injury. That after he grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists while blocking two shots in a 17-minute season debut at Boise State on Saturday.
“He's obviously our most physical player, so he really gives us a presence there,” Altman said Tuesday following the win over the Anteaters. “Chris gives us a presence with his shot-blocking, but he's not physical, and Jordan is. We looked like a different team tonight.”
The Ducks mostly cruised against Irvine, leading by as much as 20. The exception was a 10-0 run by the Anteaters late in the first half, cutting Oregon's lead from 32-16 to 32-26.
The run included four empty possessions by the Ducks, and only ended when Bell got the ball along the baseline, elevated and knocked down a jumper. He hit another from a similar spot on Oregon's next possession, simultaneously stemming the tide of Irvine's run while illuminating growth in Bell's game since last season.
“They gave him the looks in the zone, and he squared up, took his time and knocked them down,” Altman said.
Last season, that shot wasn't a consistent element of Bell's game. But it was also one of the few areas he could address while his foot healed over the last several months.
“When I was hurt, I couldn't do anything but lift and shoot,” Bell said. “So I got bigger, and worked on my shot.”
Still, his biggest impact figures to come in the post, as a defender and rebounder. Boucher quickly put to rest concerns about how Oregon would replace Bell as a rim protecter, blocking 35 shots already. Then the question became, how effective could the two be as a tandem in controlling the paint?
Despite setting the UO record last season, Bell sounds ready to defer to Boucher as the Ducks' primary shot-blocker, and focus on cleaning up rebounds in his wake.
“Chris is a different animal,” said Bell, who at 6-foot-9 is an inch shorter, though 35 pounds heavier at 225. “He gets shots I don't get.”
Bell takes his new approach into Friday's game against Prince and the 49ers. Already an excitable player, Bell figures to be straining at the reins prior to tipoff against his old friend and teammate.
“That's always a problem with Jordan, so we'll be talking to him about it,” Altman said with a chuckle. “But no, I've been really pleased with how much he's trying to give the team. He doesn't take bad shots. He's as unselfish a player as we have on the offensive end. He wants to win and he wants the team to play well. He's taken a big step.”
