Michigan State University Athletics
Charlie Bell Named Big Ten Co-Player Of The Week
11/20/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2000
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State senior guard Charlie Bell (Flint, Mich./Southwestern Academy) was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week for men's basketball on Monday, Nov. 20, 2000. Bell registered the first triple-double of his career in the season opener against Oakland, tallying 13 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Bell became just the second Spartan to record a triple-double, joining Earvin Johnson who posted eight in his career.
Bell shares player of the week honors with Indiana's junior center Kirk Haston, who led the Hoosiers to back-to-back victories in the Preseason NIT. Against Pepperdine he scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. In the next game against South Alabama he registered 21 points and 11 rebounds.
In addition to his triple-double, Bell turned in an excellent defensive performance. He held Oakland's Jason Rozycki, who scored 32 points against Michigan two days earlier, to just three points on 1-5 shooting in 32 minutes. Bell also added three steals and gathered seven of his 11 rebounds on the defensive end.
"I would almost call it a quadruple-double because I really think the defense he played might have been what won the game," said MSU head coach Tom Izzo after MSU's 97-61 victory over Oakland. "If there's a better defensive guard in the nation, I want to see him."
A third-team All-Big Ten selection as a junior, Bell was named Preseason All-Big Ten by both the league's media and coaches. He currently ranks 28th on MSU's all-time scoring list with 1,035 points. He is a preseason USBWA All-American and a top-25 vote getter on the John Wooden Award All-America team, while earning a spot as one of 30 preseason candidates for the Naismith Award.
