Charlie Bell
From Hoopedia
Charlie Will Bell III (born March 12, 1979 in Flint, Michigan) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays point guard for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. He began playing basketball at Flint Southwestern Academy High School, and had an excellent college career at Michigan State University, appearing in 3 NCAA Final Fours, and being named Michigan State Defensive Player of the Year in each of the four years he played. He went undrafted, but was signed by the Phoenix Suns on July 23, 2001 as a free agent and played five games for them. After being released by the Suns he signed with the Phoenix Eclipse of the ABA and played four games for the Eclipse. He initially signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks on January 10, 2002, and was then signed for the remainder of the season on January 15, 2002 but only appeared in two games.
After a rather brief stint in the NBA, Bell took his career to Europe to play in the Italian League and Spanish League where, in both leagues, he was regarded as a superstar. In March 2002, he signed with Benetton Treviso of the Italian League and won the Italian League with Treviso. In the 2002-03 season, he played for Virtus (Kinder) Bologna, but was injured in December 2002 and was sidelined for most of the season. In August 2003, he signed with Mabo Livorno also of the Italian League. In July 2004, he signed with Leche Rio Breogan Lugo of the Spanish League and was named to the Spanish League 1st Team for the 2004-05 season. He was also the top scorer and 4 times player of the month. He became a local hero and a legend while he was playing in Breogan.
On March 28, 2006, Bell had his greatest game in the NBA thus far. He recorded his first career triple-double in the Bucks' 132-110 win over the Suns. Bell had career highs of 19 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds to lead Milwaukee. Bell, who played only seven games in his other NBA season in 2001-02, is enjoying success with the Bucks. He appeared in 59 games (starting in six) for the Bucks in the 2005-2006 regular season, and finished with averages of 8.4 points, 2.2 assists, and 2.0 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game.
Bell is married to Kenya Howard, a former Miss Michigan USA. They currently reside in Grand Blanc, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
