Gonzaga’s 2014 Edition-What’s in the Tank: Gary Bell Jr.
Gary Bell Jr. was a hot commodity coming out of High
School. He was rated #53 on ESPN’s Super 60 list. A lot of colleges were vying
for his talents, including Gonzaga’s head Coach Mark Few, who had been recruiting
him for a long time. Few won the recruiting battle, but it wasn’t easy.
Some say that the hiring of Coach Donny Daniels
played a part in Gary’s
decision, but speculation aside, we do know that Coach Few told him he would “put
the ball in his hands.”
Coach Few kept his promise, and Gary was very productive in his first six
games as a freshman coming off the bench. That led to a start against Michigan State and he never looked back.
Over the next three years he has been instrumental
in Gonzaga’s continued success. He also has quietly gotten better in several
key statistical categories along the way. Last season he had career highs in
rebounds, steals, field goal %, and points, averaging 11.0 per game. Additionally,
he was once again deadly as a deep sniper, torching the nets at 43%.
What makes this impressive is that he has also been the
Zag’s lock-down defensive specialist. He has been called upon night in and
night out to stalk and otherwise harass opponent’s best players. That expends a
lot of extra energy.
But what makes this even more impressive is that frequently
he has been fighting though some kind of injury. Be it a broken hand, or an injured
foot, or knee surgery. It seems like he is rarely playing at 100% for long, yet
he still gets it done.
Bell is now a polished veteran with one more chance to put it together. He has a multitude of skills along with his experience. If he can remain healthy, he should have his best season yet which will hopefully help propel the Zags deep into the NCAA Tourney.
2 comments:
This year he has quite a back-up crew. Like never before. Gary can let it all hang out and never look back. Have a great year Gary!
Def. pulling for him.
When he is 100% healthy he looks like a potential All-American.
The problem is that he seems to be injury prone.
Of course that's probably because he chases opponent's best players all over the paint, through screens, and out on the perimeter...constantly.
He does get banged around a lot in the process of doing what the staff desires of him.
This year though, we have the horses to back him up. More-so than I can ever remember.
Hopefully, because we do, he will have more freedom to concentrate on his offensive fire power.
In any case, can't wait to get this party started!
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