Willie Bell has been on head coach Duggar Baucom’s staff in Charleston for five seasons. In his role as assistant coach, Bell aids with player development, focusing mostly on the post players, and scouting.
The Bulldogs have made the most 3-point field goals (1,796) in NCAA Division I over the last five seasons.
The Bulldogs battled through a multitude of injuries during the 2019-20 season, winning road games over Southeast Missouri State, Marist and Longwood during the non-conference portion of the season. The Bulldogs finished with a record of 6-6 (.500) in non-conference play, marking the fourth time in five seasons the ‘Dogs have finished at least .500 in non-conference action. The last time the Bulldogs finished with a positive non-SoCon record in four of five seasons was the final five seasons (1980-85) of Les Robinson’s career.
The Bulldogs eclipsed the 100-point mark in three games, going back-to-back-to-back from Dec. 7 – 19 with wins over Carver (108-40), Piedmont (129-83) and Longwood (102-99, 3OT). The Bulldogs have eclipsed the 100-point mark 24 times in the last five seasons and are 21-3 when scoring at least 100 points in that span.
Under Bell’s guidance, freshman post players Brady Spence and Stephen Clark each finished in the top 15 in program freshman history for blocked shots. Spence finished ninth in program freshman history with 21 blocked shots, while Spence swatted away 16 shots, tied for 12th in program freshman history.
Freshman Fletcher Abee set the program freshman record for 3-pointers made in a season with 80, breaking the previous mark that had stood for 12 years. Abee’s 80 made 3-pointers rank sixth overall in program history for made 3-pointers in a season. Following the season, Abee was selected to the Southern Conference All-Freshman Team by both the coaches and the media, marking the program’s first unanimous selection since the 2016-17 campaign. Abee is just the seventh player in program history to be named to the All-Freshman Team by both groups.
For the third time in five years, the Bulldogs had a point guard finish in the top five in program history for single-season assists as Tyson Batiste ended his season fourth in program history with 160 assists. Lew Stallworth set the program record with 181 in 2018-19 and P.J. Boutte’s 2015-16 season is third with 175 assists.
The 2018-19 season saw the Bulldogs begin the campaign 9-2 through the first 11 games, including road wins over South Florida, James Madison and Campbell. The 9-2 record marked the best start since the 1979-80 team, and the Citadel’s nine wins before the Christmas break set the program record. The Bulldogs’ 8-3 record in games against non-SoCon teams marked the best out-of-conference record since the 2001-02 team also went 8-3 prior to opening up SoCon action.
During the season, the Bulldogs set 11 single-game program records, including most points scored, most field goals made, most 3-point field goals made, most made 3-pointers in a regular-season SoCon game and most 3-pointers made against a Division I opponent. The ‘Dogs also set single-game records for most 3-point field goals attempted, most defensive rebounds, most total rebounds, most blocked shots versus a D-1 opponent, most blocked shots in a regular-season SoCon game and most 3-point attempts in a SoCon tournament game.
The ‘Dogs ended the season ranked in the top five in the Southern Conference in eight statistical categories, including leading the league in scoring average (85.1 ppg), free throw percentage (.736) and made 3-pointers per game (12.3). The Citadel ranked third in the SoCon in offensive rebounding average (10.7), defensive rebounding average (26.1) and assists per game (15.4). The ‘Dogs were fifth in the SoCon in blocked shots per game (3.7) and turnover margin (+0.73).
In the NCAA Division I ranks, The Citadel finished the 2018-19 campaign ranked second for made 3-pointers per game and fourth in both scoring average and total 3-pointers attempted (1,076). The ‘Dogs ranked seventh in total treys made (370) and 39th in assists per contest.
Following the season, Lew Stallworth was named a second-team All-Southern Conference selection by both the coaches and media, while Zane Najdawi was tabbed to the media’s third team. Stallworth, who earned five player of the week honors during the season, was also named to the HoopsHD.com All-SoCon team.
The 2017-18 campaign saw The Citadel field one of the youngest and smallest teams in all of NCAA Division I. The Bulldogs’ scholarship roster included six freshmen, four sophomores and three juniors with no seniors. Even so, the Bulldogs finished the campaign in the top-25 in the nation in eight statistical categories, including second in 3-pointers made per game (12.1), third in 3-pointers attempted (1,133), fourth in total 3-point field goals made (386), tied for fourth in steals per game (9.4) and fifth in total steals (301). The Bulldogs were also sixth in turnovers forced (542), 20th in scoring (82.5 ppg) and 21st in assists per game (16.5).
The Bulldogs led the Southern Conference in scoring, totals steals, steals per game, total 3-point field goals made and 3-pointers made per game. The Bulldogs were also second in the league in turnover margin (+2.03), total assists (528), assists per game and offensive rebounds per contest (11.8).
The 2017-18 Bulldogs’ 386 made 3-pointers, 528 assists and 301 steals are all second in program history to the 2016-17 team that converted 397 treys, finished with 561 assists and had 306 steals. The 2017-18 campaign also saw the ‘Dogs finish fourth in program history for assist-to-turnover ratio (1.107) and seventh in blocks (99).
In February of 2018, the Bulldogs earned three wins over teams ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. On February 1, the ‘Dogs downed in-state rival Wofford 80-78 with the Terriers ranked No. 17 in the poll and No. 4 in the SoCon standings at the time. Two days later, The Citadel notched an exciting 100-92, overtime win over Furman with the Paladins 19th in the mid-major top-25 poll and third in the SoCon. Possibly one of the biggest wins in recent history came on February 20 as the Bulldogs went on the road to defeat ETSU 84-82. The Buccaneers entered the game atop the SoCon standings and ranked the fifth-best mid-major program by CollegeInsider.com at the time. The Bucs ended the season ranked 16th in the poll. Two weeks prior to that win, the Bulldogs had lost a close, 73-71 game to the Bucs at home after defeating Mercer on the road 76-74 on January 27. The win over the Bears marked the first win for The Citadel over Mercer in Macon, Georgia since the 1926-27 campaign.
In the Bulldogs’ 116-66 win over Trinity Baptist on November 21, the ‘Dogs had 45 made field goals, 25 steals and 32 assists. The 116 points scored ranked tied for 26th in the nation for most points scored in a single game that year while the 25 steals ranked tied for fourth for steals by an NCAA Division I team in a single game. The Bulldogs’ 32 assists were tied for the 15th-most by a team in a single game during the year and the 45 made field goals was tied for 18th in the nation. The Citadel also ranked third in the nation for 3-pointers made in a single game with 21 against Oglethorpe on November 10.
Najdawi was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 22 First Team as well as the All-Southern Conference First Team by the league coaches, media and HoopsHD.com. Najdawi became just the fourth player in program history to pick up first-team all-conference honors from both the coaches and the media. In the regular-season finale at Western Carolina on Sunday, Feb. 25, Najdawi became just the 27th player in SoCon history and second in program history to eclipse 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks for his career. Najdawi scored his 1,000th-career point in the home win over Wofford on February 1 and brought down his 500th rebound in the game regular-season finale at Western Carolina.
Fellow junior Matt Frierson saw his offensive production take off during the 2017-18 campaign with Frierson ending the year ranked sixth in all of NCAA Division I for 3-point field goals attempted (314) and 3-pointers made per game (3.6). Frierson set the program record for treys made in a season with 114, and was named the Sixth Man of the Year for the SoCon by HoopsHD.com.
In his second season at The Citadel, Bell and company led Division I in scoring with an average of 89.8 points per game and ranked in the top-16 in eight other categories. The Bulldogs also led the Southern Conference in seven different categories as they won their first SoCon tournament game since 2010 and posted 12 wins in 2016-17, the most since the 2009-10 season.
Bell also worked with Najdawi as the sophomore increased his scoring average by eight points, posted six double-doubles and earned two Southern Conference Player of the Week honors, the first weekly awards for The Citadel since 2014.
The Bulldogs set new single season team records for points scored, steals, field goals made and three-pointers made in 2015-16 on their way to 10 wins. Bell helped the squad improve its scoring offense by 22 points per game from the 2014-15 campaign as the Dogs' 86 points per contest in 2015-16 ranked second in the nation.
Bell joined Baucom’s Citadel staff after serving as the head coach at Warwick High School (Newport News, Va.) in 2014-15. He led the Raiders to a 12-11 overall record, including a 6-1 finish in the Pen South Conference, as he captured league Coach of the Year honors. Bell’s unit garnered a pair of first and second team All-Pen South members.
In 2013-14, as the head junior varsity and varsity assistant coach, Bell helped lead Warwick to a 13-13 record. The nine-win improvement at the varsity level from the previous season resulted in the Raiders finishing second in the Conference 9 regular season and postseason tournament.
Prior to his stint at Warwick, Bell served as the head junior varsity and varsity assistant coach at Denbigh High School, also located in his native Newport News, Virginia.
His first coaching experience came at Louisiana-Monroe in 2009-10 under head coach Orlando Early. Bell, who worked primarily as the skills development coordinator with guards and forwards, was responsible for the organization of team’s travel plans.
Bell also has coaching experience on the AAU circuit with the Boo Williams Summer League 15u Elite Team (2014) and with the Newport Legends (2010-11). He was also camp counselor for basketball camps at Davidson (2009) and VMI (2006-10).
Bell, a two-sport athlete at VMI, played under Baucom for four seasons (2005-09) and was a member of the Big South Conference Tournament runner-up teams in 2007 and 2009. He was team captain of the 2008-09 unit that posted a 24-8 record, the second-best record in program history, while capturing a 111-103 victory over Kentucky at Rupp Arena.
He earned his degree in business economics from VMI in 2009.
