Why Drexel transfer Xavier Bell decided to come home to Wichita State basketball
When Wichita native Xavier Bell made the decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal after playing two seasons at Drexel, he was determined his next landing spot would be closer than a plane trip to Philadelphia for his family.
Wichita State had an obvious advantage in the recruiting process, being his hometown and a 10-minute car ride for Bell’s family and friends, but also with the relationship already formed between Bell and head coach Isaac Brown.
Brown, then an assistant, was the WSU coach who would attend Bell’s games his senior year at Andover Central in 2020 when he averaged 24.6 points and was named Mr. Basketball in Kansas. That time spent two years ago helped Brown and WSU win the recruiting battle for Bell this time around, as the 6-foot-3 guard made a verbal commitment on Friday to transfer and play for his hometown Shockers.
“The relationship was already there with (Brown), so when he reached out again, establishing a relationship and connecting again was second nature,” said Bell, who has three years of eligibility remaining. “It’s really exciting to be able to come back home and be able to hoop in front of my friends and family.”
After entering the transfer portal, Bell said he heard the most from Missouri State, Mississippi State, Tulsa and Grand Canyon, while his father, Wayne, said they also had conversations with coaches at Clemson, Tulane, Southern Illinois and Weber State.
But those conversations didn’t progress far because the opportunity to join Wichita State was too appealing to pass up.
“Ultimately, Xavier wanted to be closer to home, get to a higher conference and maybe perhaps a bigger stage and Wichita State has all of that,” said Wayne Bell, who played football at WSU when the program ended in 1986. “I think it’s a situation where he can come in and really compete and have an opportunity to make an impact at Wichita State.”
Bell is the first player to commit to WSU’s 2022 recruiting class, which has suddenly become a vital one to Brown with seven expected departures. That leaves the coach with eight scholarships for this recruiting cycle (with one more up in the air as Ricky Council IV maneuvers through the NBA Draft process) to try to bounce back from a disappointing 15-13 campaign this past season.
The Shockers will once again experience high turnover, but those inside the program are optimistic with building blocks coming back in senior point guard Craig Porter and sophomore center Kenny Pohto, while Jalen Ricks (6-foot-7) and Isaac Abidde (6-foot-9) are two promising redshirt freshmen who should add athleticism, shooting and length to the wings. Council returning would give WSU a full-fledged star.
Bell is eager to prove himself at a higher level in the American Athletic Conference, the No. 8-ranked conference by KenPom’s metrics, after averaging 11.0 points for Drexel in the Colonial Athletic Association, the 14th-ranked conference.
“I’m really looking forward to taking on those challenges,” Xavier Bell said. “I know it’s a step up from the CAA, but I think knowing the challenges that brings is really exciting for me.”
Bell comes to WSU with championship experience after earning a starting spot late in his true freshman season, helping spark Drexel to win its conference tournament. In the 2021 NCAA Tournament, Bell led Drexel in scoring with 12 points against No. 1 seed Illinois.
Even more encouraging is how Bell fared against top-100 KenPom competition last season, as he averaged 13.9 points with 57.1% shooting from the floor and 44.4% shooting on 3-pointers in seven full games against the elevated opposition, including a 20-point performance against AAC foe Tulane.
Bell looks like a natural fit in WSU’s ball-screen offense, as his combination of length at 6-3 and athleticism allowed him to score 1.07 points per possessions as a pick-and-roll ball handler, which ranked in the 95th percentile of Division I last season, per Synergy Sports Technology. Bell also made 61.1% of his shots at the rim, as the left-hander often finished smoothly with his strong hand, when he attacked off a ball screen.
“That’s what me and (Brown) talked about, a lot of ball screens, a lot of pick and rolls and actions where I can get downhill and make plays for myself or for other guys,” said Bell, who also mentioned he is working on developing his right hand to become even more dangerous at finishing with both hands.
It wasn’t long ago when that length and athleticism made Bell a tantalizing wide receiver prospect in football, drawing preferred walk-on offers from Oklahoma and Kansas State after he caught 71 passes for 975 yards his senior season to earn all-state honors.
In fact, his father thought he might follow in his footsteps and become a college football player.
“If coach (Chris) Klieman would have offered (a scholarship), Xavier very well could be playing football for K-State right now,” Wayne Bell said, chuckling.
“When I first gave up football and focused all on basketball, there were times where I would catch myself missing it a little bit more,” Xavier Bell said. “But being out there in Philadelphia by myself and growing up and spending a lot more time with myself in the gym, all of my love has been poured into basketball now.”
The focus of this offseason for Bell is becoming a more well-rounded player after averaging 1.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.1 blocks in more than 26 minutes per game.
He recently moved the rest of his classes at Drexel to online-only and plans to move back to Wichita sometime this month. He will be able to play in pick-up games with his teammates this summer, but he will actually be delayed in joining WSU for team-organized workouts in June because Drexel’s classes don’t end until June 13.
“I know they lost a couple of guys, but moving forward with coach (Brown) still here and some of the guys they have coming back, I think we will have enough firepower to compete at a high level like they have been in the past,” Xavier Bell said.
This story was originally published April 11, 2022 at 10:32 AM.
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