FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas guard Anthlon Bell may have been more excited about the two charges he took in Friday night’s exhibition game against Missouri Southern than the five three-pointers he hit.
The 6-3 sophomore from Memphis has been considered primarily a shooter since coming to Arkansas last season, but he knows to get consistent minutes in Coach Mike Anderson’s system, he needs to bring it defensively, too.
“I’ve told myself to go out there and work more defensively,” Bell said. “I’ve been doing that a lot in practice. I just had to take it to the game.”
Bell and freshman forward Bobby Portis each scored 13 points to help lead the Razorbacks in their 99-82 victory over Missouri Southern.Bell will be looking to show more of his improvement on defense when Arkansas plays its final exhibition game against Northeastern (Okla.) State at 7 tonight in Walton Arena.
The Razorbacks’ regular-season opener is Friday night against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
“I feel like defense can be a big part of my game,” Bell said. “I want to be more of a well-rounded player, more than just a shooter.
“I want to go out there and do whatever the team needs me to do for us to win.”
Bell drew both of his charges on the Lions in the game’s first 11 minutes. At that point, he was 1 of 4 from the field. He finished 5 of 15, including 3 of 10 on three-pointers and also had 2 assists and 1 steal without a turnover in 24 minutes.
“That, to me, is more important than a guy shooting the basketball,” Anderson said of Bell’s passing and defense. “He’s doing all the other things.
“I think when you don’t worry about all you want to do is score, and you do other things to help the team win,then it’s easier for you go and knock down shots. So I was proud of him for that.”
Bell scored 19 points in the Razorbacks’ Red-White game, hitting 7 of 12 shots, including 5 of 9 three-pointers. He also had 4 assists with 1 turnover in 23 minutes.
Last season, Bell averaged 4.4 points and 9.2 minutes in 29 games.
“The game has slowed down a lot for me after a year of experience,” Bell said. “So I just want to go out there and play with a lot of energy.”
Arkansas junior guard Ky Madden will miss tonight’s game as he continues to be on suspension for violation of an unspecified team rule. He also missed the Missouri Southern game and will miss the SIU-Edwardsville game.
Anderson also suspended Madden for an exhibition game two years ago and for the South Carolina game last year. Madden is continuing to practice with the team and he sat on the bench during the Missouri Southern game.
“He’s got to learn,” Anderson said. “There are team rules that everyone’s got to abide by. It’s about accountability.”
The Razorbacks had 22 assists on 32 baskets against Missouri Southern. Senior guards Mardracus Wade and Kikko Haydar shared the team lead with four assists each.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but we played as a team,” Bell said. “We had a lot of assists. That means we’re moving the ball a lot better than last year.”
Tonight’s game Arkansas men vs.
Northeastern (Okla.) State WHAT Exhibition basketball game WHEN 7 p.m.
WHERE Walton Arena, Fayetteville RADIO Razorbacks Sports Network TV None
Sports, Pages 17 on 11/05/2013