Chat with Charlie Bell
Charlie Bell answers your questions

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October 31, 2008

We know Bucks fans have been eager to see Charlie Bell’s answers to their questions and their wait was worthwhile as Mr. Bell tackles 14 fan submitted questions in this edition of the Bucks mailbag. Next up for the Bucks.com chats is 2008 second round pick Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Submit your questions for him here.

Q: You and Mateen (Cleaves) against Magic Johnson and Scott Skiles, who wins? – Eric M.

Charlie Bell: (laughs) I would have to say me and Mateen. Then again, it might be tough. Magic’s about 6’10” so I don’t know who would match up against him. We might have to double-team him. But with our toughness and we both have “Flint” tattooed on our arms – that’s good enough for a win right there.

Q: Hello Charlie, been a big fan for the last few seasons. How did you find playing b-ball in Europe from both an individual player point of view and from a TEAM point of view? – Steve N.

CB: Europe was different. The NBA is more structured to the one on one, beat your man off the dribble style. Europe is more team oriented, moving the ball and you have to have better chemistry and a better group of five players. It’s not the team that has the best two or three players, you need to have the better full team if you’re going to win. It was a good chance for me to work on my game against good competition and I had a lot of fun.

Q: From your high school career, where does dropping 50 points against the Arthur Hill Lumberjacks (Saginaw, MI) rank, and do you still get pumped up for games listening to the Dayton Family’s “Flint Town?” – Scott S.

CB: The game against Saginaw, Arthur Hill… it was actually 52 points. If I remember correctly I didn’t make one three pointer or free throw that whole game. It was 52 the HARD way. It was one of those nights where you just had it going. I had a lot of those nights in Flint and in my high school career. It definitely ranks among the top games that I’ve played.

I do still listen to the Dayton Family. I have a couple CDs that I listen to in my iPod before the game to kind of get me going and get me hyped up before the games.

Bucks.com: Is that 52 a Flint City record?

CB: Yep, that’s still the record.

Q: Hi Charlie, first off, I want to say you have been one of my favorite players and I hope you have a great season. My question is, how is the defensive system this year different from last year’s defensive system? – Ron B.

CB: I think it’s more team oriented than last year. A lot of coaches and concentrate on just keeping your man in front of you and individual defense. Here it’s about five guys helping each other. In this league there’s a lot of great players and it’s hard to stop guys one on one. It takes a team and that’s something we’ve been working on in training camp and the preseason. We all have to be on the same page so if someone gets beat, they know they have help. If someone gets beat, you have to be in the right position.

Q: Hey Charlie, do you know what Andre Hutson, a former Bucks draft pick, is up to these days? – Tony G.

CB: I stay in touch with Andre through email and we talk in the summertime. Right now he’s playing professionally in Europe. I think he’s playing in Milan, Italy, this season.

Q: Be honest Charlie, your Michigan State connection is going to pay off with Coach Skiles this season! Have you guys talked MSU together? – Andy G.

CB: Me and Coach Skiles have that Michigan State connection. It’s great to be playing for Coach Skiles. I was with him once before, but I was a rookie in Phoenix and we didn’t have too much of a relationship there. We have a better one now and I’m a little older and a veteran. Playing for him is great. He knows the game really well. Throughout my college career and seeing his number in the rafters, he was one of my idols. Every time you look at a Michigan State highlight tape, he’s on there making great passes and finding open teammates. He played with a great fire and I’m trying to do some of those same things. Once the Michigan State basketball season comes around I’m sure he’s going to be wearing his green and I’m going to be wearing mine.

Q: Charlie, do you enjoy playing for Milwaukee? I just know that a lot of NBA players don’t really like Milwaukee much and I’ve always wondered why. – Isaiah W.

CB: I really enjoy playing here in Milwaukee. I think it’s a great city. Milwaukee can get a bad rap with the other guys because it’s pretty cold here in the wintertime. There isn’t a huge nightlife scene, but there’s enough to do. Once you get used to the area, it’s nice. My family and I love it. It’s close to home (Michigan).

Q: It’s great that you’re versatile and willing to play several positions, but do you think it would benefit you if you could focus on just one position? – Nick N.

CB: I don’t think it would benefit me. I think in this day and age, something that has gotten me this far in the NBA is my versatility to play multiple positions. I like to think of myself as a utility guy, I don’t think of myself as one position or another. I like to go out there and do whatever it takes to help the team win. Throughout the season guys can go down, point guards, twos or threes and I just want to be ready and try to get minutes wherever I can.

Q: If you could pick a group of Michigan State players you’d like to play a pickup game with, who would you go with? My group would be Mateen Cleaves, Magic, Charlie Bell, Morris Peterson and Kevin Willis. Four out of the five could handle the rock and would be tough to guard on the perimeter. I’d take Respert off the bench with Jud coaching (Heathcoate). – Kelvin K.

CB: I like that team. Mateen, myself, Morris Peterson - I’d just take the national championship team I was on and we could bring those other guys off the bench. I have a lot of respect for the older guys, but I also have a lot of respect for my teammates. Those are guys I went to war with – with coach (Tom) Izzo. I think that we can win a lot of games. We still do when we’re playing pickup in the summertime. We’re all back there – me, Mateen, Morris, Zach, Jason Richardson. We play against some of the current Spartans and beat up on them. We try to make them better because during the season they’re not going to play against guys of our caliber. Guys like Eric Snow, Shawn Respert, Magic, Steve Smith, those guys came back when I was there and it was really great to play against them.

Q: What do you think about the two trades for Jefferson and Ridnour? – Collin V.

CB: I like both trades. I think in Richard Jefferson we got an explosive guy who can score and take some pressure off of Mike, Andrew and Charlie Villanueva. He really brings a different aspect to our team as far as attacking the basket. It’s exciting, he finishes at the basket and is a really athletic player. Like a Desmond Mason, but he can also step out knock down shots. It’s a great pickup for us.

Luke Ridnour is one of the top pass-first point guards in the NBA. He knows how to get his teammates the ball in scoring situations and that’s something that we need. With Jefferson and Mike and Andrew and Charlie V., we have a lot of scorers. He’s going to get those guys the ball and keep everybody on the same page.

Q: Hi Charlie, welcome to the 2008-09 season. I am a big Bucks fan. I just have one question. I know that you are a great player, this year what are you going to bring to the table for the Bucks? – Trevonte M.

CB: I’m going to bring versatility, somebody who goes out there every night and leaves it on the court. We have a lot of guys that can put the ball in the hole, but I want to be a leader on defense. Somebody that can pick it up on the defensive end and get guys going there. If we’re going to be successful this year, we have to player better on the defensive end and I want to be a leader in that aspect.

Q: Hi Charlie! What position do you prefer to play shooting guard or point guard and what about it do you like the most? Thank You! – Kyle S.

CB: I like both positions. At point guard you have the ball in your hands and at shooting guard you’re able to come off screens and look to take more shots instead of getting guys the ball. For me, it depends on the game. If I’m making shots I want to be the shooting guard. If the shots aren’t falling, I don’t mind being the point guard and getting other guys their shots.

Q: You come from a winning program at Michigan State. Do you try to bring this winning attitude to the Bucks? And if you do, how do you do it? – Jordan P.

CB: Of course. Like you said, at Michigan State we won championships and went to three Final Fours. I know what it takes to win. That’s what I try to do on the court. It’s not an individual thing. It takes a whole team to go out there and have a winning attitude. It’s not just going out there and trying to outscore your man. It’s about little things like rebounding and getting defensive stops. We need to bring our defensive field goal percentage down. It’s a lot of different things that we have to do and every person on the team has a role they have to play in order for us to be successful. Not everybody can go out and score 20 or 30 points. If everybody accepts their role on this team, it should be a good year for us.

Q: With the additions of both Richard Jefferson and coach Scott Skiles, what has been the biggest surprise from either one and how were you able to adjust to it? – Kyle L.

CB: There haven’t been any surprises. I knew both Richard Jefferson and Coach Skiles. I played for Skiles, so I knew what to expect. I’ve played against Richard. He was at Arizona and likes to talk about how my last college game was when Arizona beat us in the tournament. We have a good relationship. I knew what to expect, it’s been easy. Coach is great, he really knows the game and just from the month of practice that we’ve had, I feel like I’ve learned so much more than I’ve learned in my previous years in the NBA. You could tell when he played, that coach knew the game. So I’m just trying to learn everything I can from him.

Q: With all the experiences you’ve had thus far in your career, will you be the leader they need to lead them to the next level? – Bee M.

CB: I want to be one of the guys who leads and helps this team to the next level. This is my fourth season here and we have a lot of new guys and new faces around the basketball offices and on the court. As a familiar face here who has been through the rough times, I’m ready to take it to the next level and getting the city and team back to being the winning franchise it once was. It’s for the city and for this team. We have all the right keys to be successful and take it to the next level.

Defensively, I want to be the leader that gets things going. Guys see me as the one who has been around playing defense and playing as hard as I can. Hopefully, other guys do the same and it becomes a domino effect on the defensive end. If we want to take it to the next level we have to turn it up on that end.