Scouting Keegan Bell

Share

Tweet

Print

Email

I caught up with Bobby O’Shea from VanderbiltSportsline.com, and he gave me some good info on Keegan. He didn’t have much in terms of a future destination but he had a lot to say about Keegan’s ability and his time at Vanderbilt.

I would say that I personally really liked the way Keegan played and saw him as a “spark plug” off the bench. He was one of (if not the) best entry passers on the squad. I would argue that he was almost single-handedly responsible for the 17 point come from behind win @DePaul in December. With that said, once SEC play started Keegan’s shooting stroke fell off. He really struggled from the outside and went something like 3 for 20 at one stretch in SEC play. At 6’1, 180, he’s somewhat undersized and was, at times, a liability on the defensive side of the ball. Keegan gave an interview with Sports VU that has many Commodore fans shaking their heads. It sounds, at times, as if Keegan is more interested in playing on the And 1 tour than major College Basketball. What concerns Commodore fans the most is the fact that Keegan and AJ Ogilvy, Vanderbilt’s center and future, are roommates. What Commodore fans don’t want is this to create a split in the locker room. Jermaine Beal was the team’s starting point guard and had a better than 3:1 assist to turnover ratio. He was, more likely than not, going to start for the next 2 years. There is reason to think that this decision is as much about playing time than anything else.

Whatever team lands Keegan gets will have a guy who can play. He can run an offense and has some range. I liked the way Keegan played, but for a guy who claims to have a “flashy” style, he never struck me as being all that quick off the dribble. His ability to get to the rim at the major-conference level is still in doubt. He’s not the best defender, but as he gets a little bigger, that could change. Vanderbilt fans are certainly sorry to see him go, but given the rawness of the wound, “perspective” is hard to come by these days in Nashville.