| Meet A Flintstone Authored by Zach Eisendrath - August 1, 2005 - 12:44 am
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They’re the modern stone age family.”
Outside of Milwaukee, does anybody care about the Milwaukee Bucks? I’m not talking about in New York or California; I’m talking about the rest of Wisconsin. Two weeks ago I stumbled upon a five dollar Bucks hat at the Johnson Creek Outlet Center. Last week, I hopped into Lid’s on State Street in Madison, where I discovered that everything with the words “Milwaukee Bucks” was on sale. Are the Bucks really that unimportant to the average fan that merchandise needs to be red-ticketed to even be considered? The answer is yes.
A lack of local coverage is one of the main problems. Besides Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal-Times, can you name another reliable Bucks reporter? Michael Hunt has his days (usually only when the Bucks are winning), but media coverage on the Bucks has been nothing short of horrible in the Milwaukee area. It has been discussed over and over on the RealGM board, and it is true. Are the Bucks really this secret about their intentions or are our local media outlets just not trying hard enough for us? Perhaps a little of both.
“Let’s ride with the family down the street.
Through the courtesy of Fred’s two feet.”
In an effort to get Wisconsinites more familiar with the Milwaukee Bucks, let me introduce you to one of the Flintstones, Charlie Bell. An average fan might not know we signed him (did the MJS give him more than a paragraph in the sports section?), but let me remind you off who exactly Charlie Bell is.
He is known as the unselfish, versatile and defensive minded combo guard that led Michigan State to three straight Final Fours! Along with Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson (the three were named the Flintstone’s because they played together since elementary school), he even led the Spartans to a National Championship!
“As long as we’re winning, I’m not concerned with how much I’m scoring,” Charlie said back in his college days. That shows his unselfishness. Bell was also named best defensive player all four years for the Spartans.
“What I enjoy most about Charlie’s game is that he plays defense every play,” team leader Mateen Cleaves proclaimed. That shows his defensive presence.
Charlie came to MSU as a major scoring threat and by the end of his college days was known for his defense. When Cleaves missed 13 games with a stress fracture in his right foot, Bell was able to move over to point guard and pick up the slack. That shows his versatility.
Once again Bell has had to change his style. After going undrafted, he latched on with Phoneix and Dallas before heading over to Europe. Last season the 6’2” combo-guard played for Leche Rio Breogan in Spain. He became a scorer once again, averaging 27 points per game and shooting 44 percent from downtown. After putting up tremendous numbers overseas, I’m very excited to watch Charlie develop and see what he can do with his second go-around in the NBA.
Booth to be released
According to the reliable Gerry Woelfel, the Bucks have decided to release Calvin Booth. The Bucks will take advantage of the one-time “Allan Houston Rule,” which allows teams to cut one player before August 15th without having to pay luxury tax on their salary. Hopefully this is a sign that the Bucks believe they can bring back Zaza Pachulia, however, don’t read too much into it. This is a great one-time offer to get rid of a horrible contract, and the Bucks want to benefit from it. |
