Bell leaves team during the break
The men’s basketball team is coming back for spring semester short one player. Sophomore center Brayden Bell left the team during Christmas break.
“Brayden informed us during the break that he had decided not to return,” head coach Stew Morrill said.
Bell, a 6-foot-9-inch transfer from Ohio State, came to Utah State with a lot of hype and excitement but has spent most of the season at the end of Morrill’s bench. For the season, Bell was averaging 1.7 points per game in an average of 6.2 minutes per game. Morrill said lack of minutes is a safe reason why Bell left.
“I won’t comment on all the particular circumstances regarding the decision,” Morrill said. “But it is probably safe to say that most of the time in these situations playing time is the factor.”
When asked further about the situation and whether or not academic violations were a factor, Morrill would not comment.
Bell played high school ball in Utah and was a highly touted recruit out of Bingham High after he earned 5A all-state honors while averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds per game. In one season at Ohio State, he played in seven games averaged 1.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
Bell becomes the second Aggie player this season to withdraw from the team. Senior Nick Hammer declared himself physically unable to perform just before the season began.
sambryner@aggiemail.com