“Confidence is what happens when you’ve done the hard work that entitles you to succeed.” - Pat Summit
by Brian Abate, Chris DiGeronimo, and Gianluca Milea
There are few people who can say they have averaged 36 points in a season. There are few people who can say they are the all-time points leader in a Division I school’s history. There are few people who can say they have twice been named Big East player of the year. Finally, there are few people who can say they have beaten Michael Jordan 1 on 1 with $10,000 on the line.
Troy Bell is probably the only athlete in history to accomplish all of these feats.
Bell had an incredibly successful basketball career. He was a standout high school player in Minnesota. He averaged 36 points per game his senior season, with his lowest output being 24. Bell went on to attend Boston College, where he is still the all-time points leader and has his jersey retired in the rafters of the Conte Forum.
Bell was eventually drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of a stacked 2003 draft before heading overseas for a long and successful playing career.
Troy Bell was an unbelievable player. In addition to all of his success in organized basketball, one of his most memorable moments came during a pickup game against Michael Jordan, widely considered to be the greatest player of all time.
Michael Jordan challenged Troy Bell to a 2 on 2 matchup for $10,000 in 2005. Bell refused and countered by keeping the money on the table for a 1 on 1 matchup, which Jordan accepted. Bell “scraped” Jordan the first game 11-4. Jordan then proposed a double or nothing, which Bell accepted seeing as he had won the first game handily. After Bell went up big in the second game, Jordan began calling ticky-tack fouls in order to ensure he would not drop a second game in a row. Bell believes he truly won both games saying, “he [Jordan] knows he still owes me that money.”
In this edition of Scrambling, we recall all of the phases of Troy Bell’s career. From his days growing up in Minnesota to draft day and beginning his professional career with the Memphis Grizzlies. Bell breaks down his relationships with fellow Boston College superstar, Craig Smith and his experiences battling Michael Jordan...
Q: You had an unbelievable high school career. Your season high your senior year was 47 points, shattering many school and state records. How were you able to find so much success and at what point did you realize that you would be able to make a career out of playing basketball?
A: You know in high school I wasn’t really thinking about the pros, I was just working my butt off just trying to make sure I got free school. That was really it man. Coming from Minnesota at that time, we weren’t really getting any respect, I can’t even say “much respect”, we weren’t getting any respect. I wasn’t reaching for the stars at that point, it was just let me get that free school first and then let me figure out what happens after that. It’s crazy for me because for a guy to average 36 you would expect him to have a 60 point game, but my low that year was 24. So 24 was my low, 47 was my high, I just always was consistent. But I was just focused on free school, that was my only focus at that point.
Q: We’re actually also doing an interview with fellow Eagle, Craig Smith. Being two of the most accomplished athletes in Boston College history, what is your relationship with Craig like? Were you ever nervous he might overtake you as the BC all-time points leader?
A: To be honest, Craig as a freshman he outscored me as a freshman. I don’t know if he outscored me in the Big East, but he outscored me just from an average standpoint. I never thought about it [the BC points record], he’s like my little brother and I always try to show a lot of love. If I was going to be able to put him in a position to do great things, which I think I helped him do because he had his highest scoring year playing with me because they couldn’t double him, then that’s just what it was going to be. I just tried to do the best I could with the opportunities I had but I wasn’t really thinking about what anyone else was going to do. But no, Craig is like a brother to me man and it’s all love. He had an amazing career and we still stay in communication, it’s all love. I’m just glad he was able to have the amount of success he had.
Q: Can you talk about what it was like to play in the Big East. How did it feel to win the Big East Tournament in 2001? Who was the toughest opponent in the conference for BC?
A: Man, it was super cool playing in the Big East back then... it was stacked. Watching Big East Basketball before I got to the Big East with the hometown guy Khalid [El-Amin] winning the championship was huge. That just kind of fueled my fire and wanted to be successful, seeing a guy from my hometown have as much success as Khalid did. It was great man, I loved the challenges, loved the competitive atmosphere, loved the tough games and the toughness of the teams and just the style of play. Winning the conference was huge. We actually won it twice, I won it my senior year, we split it with UConn, but my sophomore year we won it outright. All those things were beautiful experiences.
Q: You were drafted in 2003, which is widely regarded as one of the best ever. How much of an honor was it to not only go in the first round, but go in such a talent-filled first round. What was the draft process like and what was it like being around guys like Lebron, Melo, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade?
A: I think for any player to be drafted is an honor. I worked my butt off in high school and college and my pre-draft workouts and the pre-draft camp… came out as the top athlete as far as vertical and speed. I wasn’t number one in anything but I was top four in everything… bench press and all of it. I went crazy in the games. We played 20-minute games and I averaged 18.5 in the games, shot 55 [percent] from three, 60 [percent] from two and 90 [percent] from the free throw line. From a career standpoint and a pre-draft standpoint, I laid it all on the line and showed that I belonged there. It was tough. I ain’t gonna lie, it was a lot of work but an amazing experience. I didn’t make it to the draft. I was at home for the draft with my loved ones but yeah it was a hell of an experience. A dream come true, for sure.
Q: What was it like playing for Hubie Brown? You’ve mentioned it was a tough transition, what was the most difficult part about Memphis and why do you think it didn’t work out?
A: You know what, if I wouldn’t have had injuries and had knee surgery and all that, I could have overcame any situation but the combination of the injuries and just the situation… it was impossible. Injuries could kill any career but it just was a terrible fit. Point blank. Period. It was just a bad fit on all fronts.
Q: Can you break down the time you beat Michael Jordan for $10,000? How cool was that moment for you and were you ever intimidated going up against one of the greatest to ever play? Have you remained in touch?
A: Yeah man, it was a really cool experience. I’ve always prided myself on getting up for big moments and even though it was an underground situation, it still was a big moment because obviously I grew up… you know…. super, super being a fan of MJ so it was great, but no I wasn’t intimidated. Not at all. It’s just not even my style to be intimidated. It was funny though, it was a cool experience. It was funny. I haven’t seen him or talked to him since I was in Chicago that summer.
Q: What do you think gave you the edge in your game against MJ? Why did you agree to play a second time after winning and what made him a tougher opponent the second time around?
A: He wasn’t tougher the second time. I was up 10-4, just like I was the first game. I think I was up the first game like 11-4. I was up 10-4 when he said double or nothing and then he just kept calling fouls until he made enough baskets to come back. He wasn’t tougher. I scraped him the first game, I scraped him the second game, he just cheated the second game and Tim Grover wouldn’t speak up (the owner of the gym, his trainer) and nobody said anything because who’s gonna say something to Mike. That’s what happened, he wasn’t tougher. He knows he owes me that money. He just kept calling fouls until he made enough shots to come back, that’s all. I fouled him a few times but he called a foul every time he missed, except for one that I remember. I didn’t call a foul in both games. But to be honest man, I don’t even remember him contesting too many of my shots because I was hitting him with those crossovers and those stepbacks and all that, he wasn’t even close enough to me after I was putting the moves on him to even be in the picture to really contest. Rev can attest to that, the other guy in the video talking. I mean he was tall and he’s long but he wasn’t a factor in any of my moves.
Q: You played in Europe for a while with a few different teams after your time in the NBA. How did that experience differ from your experience here in the states playing college and in the NBA?
A: The biggest difference between American and overseas ball in my opinion is that in America you can do good individually and if you’re team’s not doing so good, you can still get some credit and notoriety and people will be like his team isn’t so good. Overseas, if your team isn’t so good, then they’re cutting Americans, and that’s pretty much how it goes. That’s the biggest difference. Overseas you’ve got to win to have success. In America, you just have to have success on your own and if you win that’s great and people love it but if you don’t and you’re still doing good yourself, you can still do your thing. In Europe, you lose, you’re on the chopping block and it doesn’t matter what your numbers are; you’re still on the chopping block.
Q: You recently had your number 2 jersey retired by Boston College, becoming the 8th player to receive that honor. How special was that moment for you?
A: Yeah man, it was great. And I’m glad that they did it when I was a little older in life so that you can really appreciate it. I feel like when things like that happen when you’re young you can’t fully appreciate it. When you’re all the way done, especially when you’re doing other things in life, raising a family and the bright lights are off you just can really, really appreciate it but it was a great experience. A lot of family and friends came to it. The timing couldn’t have been any better because it happened right before the Covid thing. It was probably the last cool thing before the Covid hit, so yeah, it was great.
Comments