Troy Bell Selected 16th In 2003 NBA Draft
June 27, 2003 | Men's Basketball
June 26, 2003
Boston College guard Troy Bell was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 16th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. The draft was conducted in the theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on June 26.
Shortly after his selection by the Celtics, Boston traded Bell's rights, along with the rights to the team's subsequent selection, Duke's Dahntay Jones, to the Memphis Grizzlies. In exchange, the Celtics received the rights to UNLV's Marcus Banks and high school star Kendrick Perkins.
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Bell's selection marked the highest selection of a Boston College player since Dana Barros was taken by Seattle with the 16th pick in the 1989 NBA Draft.
Four other former BC stars have also been selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. Gerry Ward was taken by the St. Louis Hawks with the fifth pick in the 1963 draft. Terry Driscoll was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the fourth pick in the 1969 draft. John Bagley was chosen by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 12th pick in the 1982 draft. Bill Curley was taken by the San Antonio Spurs with the 22nd pick in the 1994 draft.
Bell, who finished his collegiate career as Boston College's career scoring leader with 2,632 points, earned Associated Press All-America second team honors in his senior season. He also captured BIG EAST Player of the Year honors and USBWA District I Player of the Year honors. He won the BIG EAST scoring title, finishing with a 27.8 ppg average in conference contests. His league scoring average set a BIG EAST single-season record, shattering the 27.4 ppg mark set by Seton Hall's Dan Callandrillo in 1981-82.
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In the Tuesday, July 1 edition of the Boston Herald, columnist Michael Gee wrote about the state of college athletics. In his column, he gave Troy Bell a special mention:
"College sports have given me decades of pleasure. The games are an exhilarating, delightful pastime in the fall and winter. I can't count the number of fine individuals who've used it to fulfill life goals, BC's Troy Bell being the latest example."
