UC Riverside

Justin Bell returned to his alma mater in July of 2012 after most recently serving as the lead assistant coach for the men's basketball team at Concordia University-Irvine under Head Coach Ken Ammann. In July of 2016, he was promoted to associate head coach, and on January 2, 2018 he was named the team's interim head coach..

Two of the Highlanders' top four, Division I-era win-loss records have come with Bell on the sidelines, and he has coached eight all-conference selections during his time at UCA.

During the 2013-14 campaign, UC Riverside nearly doubled its win total from the previous year earning the eight seed in the Big West Conference Tournament. The Highlanders averaged 70.9 points per game that season in conference play—the highest average since UCR joined the Big West, and 11.1 points more per game than the team averaged the year prior.
 
In the 2014-15 campaign, the Highlanders won the second most games in the Division I history of the program, and the second most conference games as well. They earned the sixth seed in the Big West Conference Tournament.

UC Riverside had a first team All-Conference player in Taylor Johns as well as Newcomer of the Year and second team All-Conference player in Jaylen Bland. Johns and Bland were the highest scoring duo in UC Riverside's Division I history.
 
In 2015-16, UC Riverside continued to build upon its success by yet again posting the second most wins in the program's Division I, while recording the most road wins and non-conference wins during that time. The Highlanders also earned the sixth seed in the Big West Conference Tournament for the second year in a row.

UCR broke several school Division I-era records during the year including highest scoring average, most assists, most three pointers made and most rebounds. A number of those marks are the highest in the program in more than a quarter century including the most assists and most three pointers since the 1988-89 campaign. UC Riverside's rebound figure was the highest since the 1994-95 season.

The Highlanders also won at Hawaii for the first time in their Big West history. Jaylen Bland finished third in the entire country in made three pointers (118) and earned Second Team All-Conference honors, while Secean Johnson earned Honorable Mention All-Conference accolades.

The 2016-17 season saw the debut of freshman Dikymbe Martin, who became the first freshman on the squad to earn All-Conference accolades since Rickey Porter earned Second Team honors in 2005-06.

During his time with the Eagles, Bell helped the squad to a 63-11 overall record, which included a league championship, two conference tournament championships, and a NAIA National Championship in 2012.
 
After graduating from UC Riverside, Bell spent time in the NBA as a youth basketball assistant for the Golden State Warriors. Bell’s role for the Warriors included directing basketball camps and clinics throughout the entire San Francisco Bay Area.
 
He began his coaching career at De La Salle High School under the tutelage of legendary high school coach Frank Allocco. During his time there, Bell helped the Spartans to a record of 54-8, while also coaching six players who went on to play college basketball. After his time at De La Salle, Bell spent one year working for Synergy Sports Technology where he analyzed colligate and professional basketball game film for scouting and recruiting purposes.
 
As a collegian, Bell played two years at Saddleback College for head coach Bill Brummel accumulating a record of 55-14, while winning two league championships. He transferred to UC Riverside for the 2004-2005 season and appeared in 27 games finishing second on the squad in assists (70). After scoring 14 points in UC Riverside's exhibition opener of the 2005-06 campaign, Bell underwent reconstructive knee surgery and was forced to use a medical redshirt.
 
Bell returned better than ever the following year starting 30 games as team captain while leading the team in minutes played (1,024), three-point field goals (70) and assists (128), and finishing third in scoring (10.2). Bell's 70 made three-pointers established the program's Division I era benchmark, and on January 10, 2007, he handed out a Division I-era record 12 assists at San Diego.
 
Bell played high school basketball at Escondido High School in North County San Diego where he had a stellar four-year career playing for Head Coach Paul Baldwin.
 
After graduating from UC Riverside, Bell received his master's degree in athletics administration from Concordia University-Irvine.