Raja Bell

Raja Bell (born September 19, 1976) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bell was born in Saint Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands and grew up in the greater Miami, Florida area, attending Ponce de Leon Junior High, Gulliver Academy and Miami Killian Senior High School. He began his college career at Boston University, where he was America East Conference (then called North Atlantic Conference) Freshman of the Year. But after a sophomore year slump and difficulties with head coach Dennis Wolff, he transferred to Florida International University in Miami. As a Senior, he led FIU to a Sun Belt Conference tournament title, and a bid in the NCAA tournament. Bell went undrafted out of college. He signed as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs on August 2, 2000, but never played a game for them. He was eventually released, and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on April 16, 2001. He played limited minutes in the final five of the Sixers' games in the 2000–01 regular season, but saw action in 15 of the team's 23 playoff games. The little-used Bell starred in Game 7 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals,