In this year’s Wisdom of Crowds series, our assignment is to figure out how Coach Wright will replace 40% of last season’s offense produced by departed players Scottie Reynolds, Reggie Redding, and Taylor King. In that quest, we now turn to our attention to freshman guard / wing, James Bell. By the way, there is still time to vote in our earlier WOC polls:
- Corey Fisher
- Maalik Wayns
- Corey Stokes
- Dominic Cheek
- Isaiah Armwood
- Antonio Pena
- Mouph Yarou
- Maurice Sutton
- Jayvaughn Pinkston
Use the voting buttons, below, to predict the points per game you think James will score this year and the comment section to explain your thinking. To help you come up with your prediction, we have provided the freshman stats of other Nova guards and a "third party expert" player assessment, below.
Freshman Statistics of Other ‘Nova Forwards/Wings
| Player | GP | MPG | PPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% |
| Dominic Cheek | 33 | 13.5 | 4.9 | 45.3 | 31.0 | 65.4 |
| Maalik Wayns | 33 | 15.0 | 6.8 | 43.4 | 31.4 | 81.4 |
| Reggie Redding | 28 | 15.8 | 2.8 | 31.8 | 17.5 | 66.3 |
| Randy Foye | 31 | 26.8 | 10.3 | 36.2 | 30.2 | 83.1 |
Third Party Player Assessment
ESPN Assessment: "a strong and athletic wing … a good shooter with range to 22 feet … at his best with his feet set and squared to the basket … really improved that aspect of his game over the past couple of years … less effective when shooting on the move … a big time vertical athlete that will dunk on an unsuspecting foe … an effective slasher to the basket that can finish well above the rim once he gets there … an excellent rebounder for his position due to his strong body and athletic ability …defensively he is solid but he can struggle sometimes in space … was injured last spring and still suffers some affects from that leg injury … should continue the Villanova tradition of super strong guard play."
Villanova.com: "An explosive leaper who thrives in transition ... Offers size and a quality shooting touch from the win spot ... Expected to be in the mix for minutes on the wing ... Diagnosed with stress fractures in the tibia of both legs in August and underwent surgery to have a metal rod inserted in the legs in September … named a third team prep All-American by USA Today and a fourth team All-American by Parade Magazine ...... Invited to try out for USA Basketball's U18 national team in June 2010 ... Ranked No. 42 on the list of the nation's top 100 seniors by Rivals.com."
Brian’s Big East Media Day Notes
Jay Wright: "James Bell had two surgeries on his tibia, for stress fractures. We’ll probably get him back into practice at the end of November, so if everything is going well with him, we were thinking that maybe in the middle of December we could get him to be 100%, and then we have to make a decision."
Highlight Video
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Assuming he plays (regardless of your vote above) ....
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