Journey To Jadwin - Amir Bell
7/30/2020
He was the 2018 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, a 2017 Ivy League Champion and scored 1,034 points in his career at Princeton. These days, he's making an impact at the professional level for Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Israeli Premier League. Amir Bell's Journey To Jadwin began just 30 minutes away in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
Bell was first introduced to the game of basketball by his father, Thomas Bell.
“I would always go to the gym with my dad when I was four or five, he would go play pickup games or men’s league games on the weekend and would always bring me along,” explained Bell.
He was definitely my first role model. He was the one who first put a ball in my hand, he’d take me out to the park and help me work on my game.Amir Bell
Along with his father, Bell was also heavily influenced by Jason Kidd, as many youths growing up in New Jersey in the early 2000’s were.
“I was a big Nets fan so I was a big Jason Kidd fan, that’s why I wear number five or tried to as much as I can,” said Bell. “I loved the way he played point guard and passed the ball, that was my favorite player when I was younger.”
Bell would first play organized basketball in fourth grade for Fast Break Basketball in East Brunswick and it only took a short time for him to realize it was something he wanted to pursue at a higher level.
“In sixth or seventh grade, my AAU team was pretty good in the state of New Jersey,” said Bell. “That’s when I first started to realize I was pretty good and I can maybe have a future in basketball. My sixth or seventh grade year, we ended up losing the state championship to Karl Anthony-Towns’ AAU team; he lived 30 minutes from me and we’d always play each other growing up."
That was my first loss in a big championship game, but also the first moment I really realized this was something I wanted to do and continue to do as I get older.Amir Bell
As Bell’s love of the game grew, he was able to share that love with his neighbor, Rob Ukawuba. While Ukawuba was a year older than Bell, the two regularly played together since Bell was six years old.
“It was great to have him as a neighbor as we went through the process of high school, AAU and recruiting,” articulated Bell. “He ended up going to NJIT and now he is playing professionally, so having a neighbor go through the same thing as you and that you can work out with every day was great…I remember we were on the same AAU team, six hours going to games, going on trips and being together a lot."
We’d work out before and after school. In my backyard there’s a little court that we’d work out on.Amir Bell
All of those backyard workouts would pay off, as Bell went on to have a stellar high school career. He would come off the bench his freshman year, then progress to a starting role on a talented team his sophomore year.
My junior year was when we had our best year, it was one of the best years in East Brunswick history.Amir Bell
“We ended up going 26-4, we won our state sectional championship but lost in the county championship to Saint Joe’s," said Bell. "We had beat them twice that year in the regular season, that was Karl-Anthony Towns’ team. We ended up finishing top-10 in the state overall and it was a really big year for us. That year was when I really started to grow as a player leadership wise, learned how to contribute to a winning team and that transitioned to my senior year.”
Along with success at the high school level, Bell also made an impact on the AAU circuit. From sixth to eighth grade, he played for the Central Jersey Slammers, taking on teams predominantly from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Eventually, Bell would seek a higher level of competition.
“Going into my ninth-grade year I switched to Team Jersey Elite, who I played with throughout high school,” explained Bell. “It was coached by one of my dad’s really good friends growing up and my dad was an assistant coach. On Team Jersey Elite you start playing AAU on a national scale and start competing against all the best teams in the country. That’s when you start playing against the best players in the country and you learn you can compete at this level, that’s when college recruitment starts. That was a really exciting period; it really opens your eyes and shows you how much better you need to be."
That time I really locked in and decided I wanted to be a college basketball player, I decided I needed to get better from there.Amir Bell
Bell’s impressive play in both high school and AAU unquestionably captured the attention of college scouts, but his attendance at the Princeton Elite camp the summer after his freshman year of high school also proved key in his recruitment process.
“I went to the Elite camp my freshman summer going into my sophomore year, and that was my first ever experience,” said Bell. “I played well and that’s when they started to have interest and decided to keep an eye on me.”
Keep an eye on Bell they did.
“It was my sophomore summer going into my junior year when it got serious,” explained Bell. “Going into my junior year, more towards the end, they started coming to a bunch of games. It helped that I was so close by and was able to take some unofficial visits and meet some of the guys."
I remember my first time going to play pick-up there, I was probably 6’3, 150 pounds and had to guard Ian Hummer in the post, so that was fun.Amir Bell
The warm, family atmosphere at Princeton was evident to Bell early.
“I remember guys like T.J. Bray and Will Barrett, those guys, every time I went, were so warm and welcoming. They’d always talk to me after the game and made me feel I was part of the team already. That was a big deal in me going there, having that relationship with the program already.”
That team culture combined with Princeton’s academics made it an easy choice for Bell.
“I was being recruited by a handful of other schools but Princeton was recruiting me the hardest. Being close by had a bit of an effect, staying close to my family and knowing they’d be able to come to games."
Aside from that, it’s also Princeton. Can’t beat the academics, it’s one of the best if not the best in the world. From a standpoint of how much of a family the basketball team felt like, I couldn’t pass that up.Amir Bell
There were some really great players at Princeton when I was being recruited like T.J. and I felt like I could be really successful in the system they played, sharing the ball with one another. That really drew to my game and was a big thing.”
There was one other key reason Bell chose Princeton, a reason dear to his heart.
“My grandfather used to work at Princeton on the grounds crew," proclaimed Bell. "That was special for me to be able to go play at Princeton and have that history.”
Once he got to Princeton, it didn’t take long for Bell to find mentors who showed him the ropes.
“Hans Brase, Mike Washington, Ben Hazell, those were some of the upperclassmen," said Bell. "They took me under their wing and showed me how to work on the court, show up early and get better. Off the court, they showed me you need to be in class and when you’re in class, get your work done on time. Make sure you’re on top of things, time management. It’s a big adjustment, going from high school to college. It’s something you have to learn a little bit because you have a bit more free time than you’re used to, so making sure you’re productive.”
Bell would apply those lessons throughout his career; along with his 2018 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year award and 1,043 career points, his 313 career assists rank sixth-all time in school history. Bell also appeared in 118 games, which is tied for fourth all-time in school history. During the Tigers' run to the Ivy League title in 2017, Bell shot 55.7 percent from three in conference games, leading the conference.
Along with winning the Ivy League championship in 2017 and playing in the NCAA Tournament, Bell cherished all of the incredible travel opportunities he had at Princeton as the team went to locations like California, Hawaii and Italy.
Post-graduation, Bell has played professionally and travelled the world.
“My first year I played in Italy for Agrigento in the second league, that was a really good experience in my first year of pro basketball,” said Bell. “Being in Sicily, it was beautiful. The food was great and the culture was really nice. This past year, I started in Malaysia in the ASEAN league, that was a great league, competitive. I was fortunate enough with that team to play against 10 different teams in six different countries, so I was able to go to Thailand, Hong Kong, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, I was able to play the game I love and travel at the same time.”
Following an impressive season in the ASEAN League for the Kuala Lumpar Dragons, Bell would reunite with Spencer Weisz ’17 as a member of Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
When I first got the call, I called him immediately and we were laughing. We both know each other’s game so well and we’ve built this chemistry both on and off the court, so that will make us better individually as players and the team better. We’re going to be playing together next year and we’re hoping to win a championship like we did at Princeton.Amir Bell
Bell takes pride in the fact he’s been able to get paid to play the game he loves and is appreciative of the role Princeton played in helping him get there.
“Being a pro in general, I’m really proud I’ve been able to stick with it and Princeton really pushed me in terms of adversity and being able to adapt to different situations," said Bell.
While Princeton helped Bell thrive professionally, it also helped him thrive personally as he is grateful for the relationships he has built over the years.
“I’m most thankful for the people I met in my four years, the relationships that I built and the teammates that I had, the friends I met outside of basketball and through basketball are relationships I’ll have forever,” said Bell. “I talk to these guys every day, I’m so grateful that Princeton was able to introduce me to new people and new experiences I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else. I’m thankful for that, we’d always talk about how Princeton wasn’t just four years, it was 40 years, but that’s true."
I’m looking forward to keeping on building on the relationships I already have from Princeton and continuing to see all the people I’ve met achieve success and grow with them.Amir Bell
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