Bonzi Wells

Position	Shooting Guard
Nickname	Bonz
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Team	Indiana Pacers (NBA)
Nationality	United States
Born	September 20, 1976 Muncie, Indiana
College	Ball State University
Draft	11th overall, 1998 Detroit Pistons
Pro career	1998 – present
Former teams	Portland Trail Blazers 1998 – 2003 Memphis Grizzlies 2003 – 2005 Sacramento Kings 2005 – 2006

Gawen DeAngelo "Bonzi" Wells, also known as the Bonz, (born September 20, 1976 in Muncie, Indiana) is a 6'5" shooting guard in the National Basketball Association for the Indiana Pacers. A shooting guard (SG) is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. ... The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... NBA logo, depicting former star Jerry West Location of NBA teams, conferences and divisions The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the worlds premier mens professional basketball league and one of the major professional sports leagues of North America. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Muncie is a city in Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University. ... Ball State University is a state-run university located in Muncie, Indiana. ... 1998 NBA Draft - 24 June 1998 - Vancouver, British Columbia See also: List of NBA Drafts, NBA Draft Round 1 Round 2 Categories: | ... The Detroit Pistons are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in the Detroit metropolitan area. ... The Portland Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. ... The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. ... The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. ... September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Muncie is a city in Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University. ... A shooting guard (SG) is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. ... NBA logo, depicting former star Jerry West Location of NBA teams, conferences and divisions The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the worlds premier mens professional basketball league and one of the major professional sports leagues of North America. ... The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ...

Wells attended Muncie Central High School in Muncie, Indiana. He was selected eleventh overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 1998 NBA Draft out of Ball State University, where he averaged, 21.4 PPG, 3 SPG, and 7.3 RPG ^[1]. Wells never played for the Pistons as his draft rights were traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for the Blazers' 1999 first round pick. The Detroit Pistons are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in the Detroit metropolitan area. ... 1998 NBA Draft - 24 June 1998 - Vancouver, British Columbia See also: List of NBA Drafts, NBA Draft Round 1 Round 2 Categories: | ... Ball State University is a state-run university located in Muncie, Indiana. ... The Portland Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. ... 1999 NBA Draft - Day Month 1999 See also: List of NBA Drafts, NBA Draft Round 1 Round 2 Categories: 1999 in sports | NBA Draft ...

As a swingman in Portland Wells achieved career highs in scoring and improved on defense, and picked up what some would call an undeserved bad-boy image ^[2] while sharing the role of co-captain with Rasheed Wallace. Bonzi however did have his share of on and off the court incidents. During his tenure with the Blazers, Bonzi was suspended for two games for publicly cursing at his coach after being taken out of a game. Bonzi was also fined in a separate incident for making an obscene gesture to a fan in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. When asked by a media reporter about the incident, he said, "I black out sometimes," ^[3] and then winked and smiled at the camera^{[citation needed]}. Wells was suspended one game without pay and fined $10,000 for intentionally striking and verbally abusing an official in 2000. Bonzi and teammate Erick Barkley in 2001 were cited for criminal trespass after they refused to leave the scene by order of an officer of a fight near a downtown nightclub. ^[4] Bonzi was also suspended for a undisclosed reason during the 2005 NBA Playoffs. Swingman is a basketball term denoting a player who can play both the small forward and shooting guard positions. ... Rasheed Abdul Wallace (born September 17, 1974) is an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. ... The Philadelphia 76ers (also known as the Sixers for short) are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... Erick Barkley (born February 21, 1978 in Queens, New York) is an American professional basketball player. ... The 2005 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Associations 2004-2005 season. ...

This only went to further the team's derisive nickname, Portland Jail-Blazers. Trail Blazers management made an oath to the City of Portland to have a team of upstanding-Portlanders and drastically restructured the team. In an exchange that emphasized the urgency to release Wells, he was sent to the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade for reserve guard Wesley Person. The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. ... Wesley Lavon Person (born March 28, 1971 in Crenshaw, Alabama) is a professional basketball player in the NBA. Selected by the Phoenix Suns 23rd overall in the 1994 NBA Draft out of Auburn University, he played three seasons for the Suns, five for the Cleveland Cavaliers, 82 games over two...

The unorthodox coaching methods of Hubie Brown and his strict 10-man rotation limited Wells to just under 25 minutes per game for the Grizzlies. This tactic helped them earn their first playoff appearance in franchise history. Hubert Jude Hubie Brown (born September 25, 1933 in Hazelton, Pennsylvania) is a former basketball coach and television analyst. ... The NBA Playoffs are four rounds of competition between sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conferences (called Divisions, pre-1970) of the National Basketball Association. ...

After Brown suddenly quit his duties mid-way through the 2004-05 season, Mike Fratello took over as head coach. It appeared Wells was finally going to be given a chance pose a threat on the court. This would not come to be, highlighted by the fact that Wells played a total of 27 minutes in the Grizzlies' second playoff appearance in 2005. Citing undisclosed reasons by Fratello, he was suspended in Game 2 of the series against the powerhouse Phoenix Suns. He returned in Game 3 ^[5], only to play nine minutes. Wells did not dress for the series-ending Game 4 ^[6]. The 2004-05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... Mike Fratello (born February 24, 1947 in Hackensack, New Jersey, United States) is a professional basketball coach. ... The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. ...

Prior to the start of the 2005-06 NBA season, Wells was acquired from the Grizzlies by the Sacramento Kings in a trade for point guard Bobby Jackson and center Greg Ostertag. In the early part of the season, Wells had been a rebounding force for the Kings, recording career-best numbers in rebounds, while also recording excellent assists and steals totals. The 2005-06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. ... The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. ... Point guard is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. ... Bobby Jackson (born March 13, 1973 in East Spencer, North Carolina) is an NBA basketball player, currently playing guard for the Memphis Grizzlies. ... Bill Russell (left) and Wilt Chamberlain (right) were two of the greatest centers ever. ... Gregory Donovan Ostertag (born March 6, 1973 in Dallas, Texas) is a NBA basketball player who measures 72 (2. ...

On July 11, 2006, Wells signed a 6 year, $45,000,000 deal with the Sacramento Kings. His rights were then traded to the Indiana Pacers for center Jeff Foster and point guard Šarūnas Jasikevičius. July 11 is the 192nd day (193rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 173 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... Jeffrey Douglas Foster (born January 16, 1977 in San Antonio, Texas) is an NBA basketball player, currently playing for the Indiana Pacers. ... Å arÅ«nas Jasikevičius drives to the basket Å arÅ«nas Jasikevičius ( (help· info), born March 5, 1976 in Kaunas, Lithuania) is a basketball player for the NBAs Sacramento Kings. ...

Trivia

• Wears a sweatband on each biceps that says "Bonz"
• Switched jersey number from 6 to 42 in 2005 after the Sacramento Kings retired the number 6 in honor of their fans. ^[7]
• Wore #42 in college at Ball State, where it was retired in Februrary, 2005. ^[8]
• Scored a career high 45 points against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of the first round of the 2003 NBA Playoffs
• He is named after his father Gawen Wells
• Has a son (born in 1998) also named Gawen
• Was a NikeBasketball.com Baller of the Week
• Was a GQ "Top 10 Most Hated Athlete"
• Wells' name was dropped in rapper Ghostface Killah's song, "Biscuits"; in Trife's verse he says, "I'm from a place where chunkheads and zombies dwell/And niggaz keep they heat blazin' like Bonzi Wells."
• Has a gymnasium named after him ^[9]
• Was named MAC freshman of the year in the 1994-1995 season^[10]
• Set the Mid-American Conference all-time career records in points (2,485) and steals (347). Wells broke Ron Harper's record of 2,377 points on a one-handed dunk against Northern Illinois on February 21st. The dunk sent the sell-out crowd at University Arena into frenzy. A timeout was immediately called and Wells was awarded the game ball by Ball State president John Worthen. ^[11]
• Led the Mid-American Conference in steals in 1998 with 73, averaging 3.55 steals in 29 games. Wells led the conference in steals during all four years at Ball State ^[12]

The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. ... The 2003 NBA playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Associations 2002-03 NBA season. ... Ghostface Killah (born Dennis Coles, May 9, 1970, Staten Island, New York) is a rapper and member of the hip-hop collective, Wu-Tang Clan. ... The Mid-American Conference is a College Athletic Conference whose members are located mainly in the Midwestern United States; nine of the schools are in Ohio and Michigan alone. ... Ronald Harper (born January 20, 1964 in Dayton, Ohio) is a former professional basketball player whose career spanned from 1986 to 2001 with four teams in the National Basketball Association. ...

References

• "Gym renamed after Ball State alumnus" "The Ball State Daily News", September 27, 2004

September 27 is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 95 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Notes

1. ^ http://www.ibiblio.org/craig/draft/1998_draft/Players/wells.htm
2. ^ http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/viewpoints/index.ssf?/blazers/viewpoints/thefan-120403.frame
3. ^ http://www.katu.com/sports/story.asp?ID=62161
4. ^ http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/3972/20010910/bonzi_wells_erick_barkley_charged
5. ^ http://www.nba.com/games/20050429/PHOMEM/recap.html
6. ^ http://www.nba.com/games/20050501/PHOMEM/recap.html
7. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1679503
8. ^ http://www.bsu.edu/president/article/0,1370,53852-5961-41859,00.html
9. ^ http://www.bsu.edu/web/dpc/ports/spring2005/asharpport/pdfs/DN9272004.pdf
10. ^ http://www.bsufans.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=224
11. ^ http://www.bsufans.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=224
12. ^ http://www.bsufans.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=224