On Monday's weekly ACC coaches call, ironically, but conveniently, Cal's Mark Madsen and the Cuse's Adrian Autry were scheduled back-to-back on the agenda, and it was obvious in the tone of voices from each head coach, Madsen and his program have welcomed Bell with wide open arms, while Autry could only shrug at the plus/minus nature of the transfer portal/NIL era.
Madsen says Bell's impact has been 'huge' on the Cal program
Coming off a rough home loss last Saturday night to Clemson, in which they trailed by double digits most of the way, and more of an outlier for the surprising Bears (17-7, 5-6) this season than not, Madsen had nothing but praise about Bell's place, a senior from the nearby East Bay, in the program.
On a team with four double-digit average scorers, Bell is fourth among that group at a respectable 13.0 ppg, hitting 45% from beyond the arc, fitting right in as another scorer and long range threat.
"His work ethic is that of an NBA player," Madsen said Monday. "He is obviously an elite shooter, but he's so much more than that. He's a strong finisher at the rim. He has a really good basketball IQ. Everybody on the team loves him."