The rising senior looks like he’ll finish his career elsewhere
Another Syracuse Orange player has hit the NCAA transfer portal. Unlike Kyle Cuffe, who was exclusively a bench player with SU, this second departure started much of the last three years.
Chris Bell told On3 Sports on Saturday that he is entering the portal with one year of eligibility remaining.
Bell had a complicated Syracuse tenure. He was benched several times by Jim Boeheim as a freshman for his lack of rebounding. As a sophomore, his numbers went up across the board – averaging 12.0 points and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 42% from deep and 84.2% at the line.
Much of that progress came crashing down this past year. Bell only averaged 6.6 points per game and 34.5% from three while mainly came off Adrian Autry’s bench.
NEWS: Syracuse wing Chris Bell is entering the transfer portal, he told @On3sports.
The 6-7 junior averaged 9.3 PPG this season, shooting 42% from three in ACC play. Over his three-year career at Syracuse, Bell knocked down 170 three-pointers, ranking among the top 15 in school… pic.twitter.com/lEZqyItRMZ
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) March 22, 2025
We’ll see what teams feel that a bounceback year is in the cards for the three-point specialist. He could attempt to reunite with Quadir Copeland or explore other avenues towards consistent playing time.
With Cuffe and Bell out the door, SU has seven available scholarships for the 2025-26 season. Coach Autry still (currently) has five returning players and a four-man freshman class but must be more vigilant in the portal than he and his staff were last offseason. They’ve been in contact with an outside shooter from the Colonial as well as a guard from the Summit League so far. We’ll keep you updated as news of more offers trickles out.
What are your thoughts on Chris leaving? Do you think the Bell can toll elsewhere as a senior?