By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com
Raekwon Bell, a 6-foot-3 sophomore forward for the Napa Valley College men's team, was named Northern California Honorable Mention by Signal The Light Basketball.
Signal The Light Basketball announced the team, in a report, on March 25, at stlball.com.
Bell, who is from American Canyon, played in 28 games during the 2023-24 season for Napa Valley, averaging 8.9 points per game on 40.7 percent shooting from the field, 23.7 percent from the 3-point line, and 68.4 percent from the free-throw line.
Bell also averaged 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game for the Storm.
He started 26 of the Storm's games and averaged 26.6 minutes per game.
Bell had 134 total rebounds and 250 total points during the season.
He also had 22 steals.
Bell scored in double figures in 14 games. He scored a season-high 21 points twice, in a nonconference game against Southwestern Oregon and in a Bay Valley Conference game against Contra Costa College-San Pablo.
Bell and Ethan Williams, a 6-foot-5 forward, were honored on "Sophomore Night" in a pregame ceremony, prior to a Bay Valley game against College of Marin-Kentfield, on Feb. 20. It was the final home game of the regular season for the Storm.
Bell scored 14 points, including 4-of-4 free-throw shooting, and Williams scored eight points, going 2-of-2 at the free-throw line, as Napa Valley beat College of Marin, 81-80.
As a freshman, during the 2022-23 season, Bell played in 28 games, averaging 6.1 points per game on 41.3 percent shooting from the field and 60.6 percent from the free-throw line. He also averaged 3.2 rebounds per game.
He started eight games and averaged 16.2 minutes per game.
Bell had 90 total rebounds and 171 points.
John Bynum Jr. is a writer and scout for Signal The Light Basketball. Its website is at stlball.com. Signal The Light Basketball, according to its website, stlball.com, is the "#1 News Source for California Men's Junior College Basketball."
Signal The Light Basketball named Elijah Mahi, a 6-6 sophomore for West Valley College-Saratoga, as the NorCal Player of the Year.
Signal The Light Basketball named Danny Yoshikawa of West Valley College as the NorCal Coach of the Year.
Named to Signal The Light Basketball's Northern California First Team:
* Jose Cuello, College of the Sequoias-Visalia, 6-1, sophomore, guard.
* Zach Broadous, Chabot College-Hayward, 6-4, sophomore, guard.
* Elijah Mahi, West Valley College-Saratoga, 6-6, sophomore, forward.
* Devon Malcolm, Yuba College-Marysville, 6-5, sophomore, forward.
* Dajon "Money" Lott, Sacramento City College, 6-8, sophomore, center.
Named to Signal the Light Basketball's Northern California Second Team:
* Kai Jordan, Columbia College-Sonora, 6-2, sophomore, guard.
* Tyreon Payne, Merced College, 6-2, sophomore, guard.
* Devin Carson, Los Medanos College-Pittsburg, 6-3, sophomore, guard.
* Solomon Tucker, Cabrillo College-Aptos, 6-7, sophomore, forward.
* Fabian Reichstadt, Gavilan College-Gilroy, 6-8, sophomore, forward.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.