Bell was born on Saint Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands and grew up in the greater Miami, Florida area, attending Ponce de Leon Junior High School, 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 his sophomore year, Bell left Boston University for non-basketball related reasons. He then transferred to Florida International University (FIU) in Miami for his junior and senior seasons. Bell went undrafted out of college in the 1999 NBA draft.