Wednesday Where Are They Now?: Troy Bell

Ever wonder what happened to those college stars that couldn't catch on in the NBA? The guys that put up the great numbers or the guys that left early, and were never heard from again? Every Wednesday, we at BIAH will take a look at a former college star that never made it in the NBA, and we will update you on where he is playing or what he is doing. We're guessing the results will surprise you. To request a player, leave a comment in the comments section.

Troy Bell, Boston College

Despite being fairly lightly recruited out of the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minnesota (he was only offered by Xavier and Tennessee, and UT coach Buzz Peterson wasn't even on campus during Bell's official visit), the 6'1", 180 lb Bell went on the have one of the greatest careers in Big East history. Bell was setting scoring records from the minute he stepped on campus in 1999, as he averaged 18.8 ppg as a freshman, setting the rookie scoring record. For his career, Bell averaged 21.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, and 3.5 apg, and established a BC career record (good for 21st all-time) with 2,632 points. As a senior in the 2002-03 season, he averaged 25.2 ppg (27 ppg in Big East play, another record) and won his second Big East player of the year award, joining Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Troy Murphy, and Rip Hamilton as the only players to achieve that feat.

Despite winning a share of the Big East regular season title Bell's senior season, BC did not make the NCAA tournament. But Bell was selected with the 16th pick in the NBA Draft by the Celtics, before being traded to the Grizzlies. He only saw action in six games his rookie year, and four days before the opening of summer league before his second season, Bell injured his knee and needed surgery. After reinjuring the knee during training camp, the Grizzlies released Bell, who then signed with Real Madrid in Spain. Bell only stayed in Spain for two months during the 2004-05 season, and ended up sitting out the entire 2005-06 season after being cut by New Orleans after their first exhibition game.

During his season off, Bell moved back to the Midwest, where he started working out in Michael Jordan's gym (apparently he beat MJ 1-on-1). Eventually, in an effort to build up strength in his knee and in his core, Bell started working out in a boxing gym. After a couple of months he decided to try his in luck in the ring. He ended up going 2-0 in amateur boxing matches, but was drafted in the D-League in August of 2006. He played in the D-League during the 2006-07 season for Albuquerque and Austin, averaging 14.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and 3.5 apg on the season.

In 2007-08, Bell signed with the Italian team Angelico Biella, where he led the team (which also had former Kansas guard Keith Langford and for Georgia Tech guard BJ Elder) at 15.6 ppg. He just inked a deal to play the 2008-09 season for Vanoli Soresina, another Italian league team.