JaQuante Bell is excited about the next step.
It doesn’t bother the New Hope High School senior that he likely is going to have to change a few things, but that is part of the excitement because Bell is confident he can be even more of an all-around player. Bell will get a chance to prove that next season when he suits up for the Northeast Mississippi Community College men’s basketball team. Bell made his decision official Thursday in a signing ceremony in the school’s library.
“I like the way they play the half-court set, and the coaches continued to recruit me hard,” Bell said, “so I think it is a good fit.”
Dressed to impress with an orange bow tie his girlfriend bought him, Bell said the coaches at Northeast Mississippi C.C. started to recruit him after he transferred from West Lowndes High to New Hope. He said the recruiting process started late in the school’s football season. He said the coaches came to the school and watched him practice and offered him a scholarship the same day. He said he visited the school and attended a football game while he was in Booneville and liked what he saw
“It was kind of an easy decision,” Bell said.
Bell said he opted to move from West Lowndes High to New Hope because he wanted to play against bigger competition to prepare him for college. He said the decision has paid off going against Class 5A and Class 6A competition. He said he also has had the chance to work against and with 7-foot center Andrew Junkin in practice. He said his ultimate goal is to move to the Division I level.
“I’m excited,” Bell said. “I am just going to work on it and get there and do what I have to do.”
Bell said growing up he always has played with his back to the basket. He isn’t worried about honing his ballhandling or his shooting skills to diversify his game.
New Hope High boys basketball coach Drew McBrayer also isn’t concerned. He said Bell is athletic enough to be a load to handle to other post players.
“He has added a lot of toughness and a lot of inside scoring punch,” McBrayer said. “With him and Andrew together, it makes for a tough combination sometimes.”
At 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, Bell provides some girth to go with Junkin. Tyler Stevenson, who is 6-6, and Terryonte Thomas, who is 6-3, give the Trojans two more options in the post.
But Bell is working to diversify his game. He said the coaches at Northeast Mississippi C.C. have talked to him about playing small forward or being a stretch power forward, who extends defenses with his shooting range. Bell said he is working on his ballhandling and his perimeter shooter to prepare him for the next step.
McBrayer has been down a similar road with Thomas, who started his career at New Hope High as a post player. In the last three years, Thomas has moved to the perimeter, so McBrayer said he and Bell plan to continue to work the rest of the season and following the campaign to hone the skills he will use more often in college.
“It will be a challenge because it is not something he is accustomed to, but I think it is going to be his fit ,” McBrayer said. “I think playing a stretch four at that level with his size — and he doesn’t shoot the ball bad — (is going to work out). He never really has worked on an outside game. We did a little bit in individual workouts, but as soon as the season is over he is going to get in the gym and we’re going to get to work on that same skill.
“I think that is his fit at the next level. He can always go and bang inside with those guys at the next level. To be able to add that dimension to his game is just going to make him that much more difficult to defend.”
Bell knew he was going to have to make some changes to prepare for the next level. Now that he has announced his intentions, Bell is focused on investing the time and the energy to prove he can be more than just a low-post threat.
“It has been one of my dreams to try to go to college and make myself a better player,” Bell said. “I have worked on it, and I have to continue to work at it. I am excited to go to Northeast to continue my journey.”
n New Hope sweeps Caledonia: Terryonte Thomas had 25 points Thursday night to lead the New Hope boys to an 83-54 victory against Caledonia.
Zerius Smith had 12 points, Tyler Stevenson had 11, Andrew Junkin had 10, and Anthony Roland had nine for the Trojans (19-9).
n In the girls game, Alex Melton had 15 points to lead New Hope to a 64-29 victory. Janae Topps and Lanoria Abrams had 11 for the Lady Trojans (15-10).
n In Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Region 2 tournament action, the host Leake Academy boys edged Heritage Academy 56-55 in the first round. The loss sends heritage Academy into the consolation round, where it will face Winston Academy at 4:15 p.m. Saturday.
The Starkville Academy girls lost to Winston Academy 36-35. The loss drops Starkville Academy into the consolation round, where it will play Heritage Academy, which lost to Leake Academy, at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The Starkville Academy boys will play Leake Academy in the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter@ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.