Twenty-Five Years and Still in the Game, Bonzi Celebrates Silver Anniversary

It seems impossible, but it has been 25 years since Muncie's own Bonzi Wells starred in his final season at Central High School and signed on to play for the hometown Ball State Cardinals.

Wells went on to become the top scorer in the history of the Mid-American Conference and play a decade in the NBA. And last week, he was recognized with other top players from the high school class of 1994 on the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame's Silver Anniversary Team.

Wells followed in the footsteps of former Bearcats like Ray McCallum and Chandler Thompson in choosing to play for Ball State, and he re-wrote the record books during his four years playing for McCallum inside University Arena (now Worthen Arena).

Wells' 2,485 points and 347 steals still stand as both Ball State and MAC records more than 20 years later. He owns four of the top-eight single-season point totals and four of the top-five single season steals totals in program history.

During Wells' career, Ball State played in the 1995 NCAA Tournament and the 1998 NIT.

He was selected with the 11th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft and went on to play 10 seasons for the Trailblazers, Grizzlies, Rockets, Kings and Hornets. At the height of his career, he averaged 17.0 points per game for the Blazers in 2001-02.

Wells has remained part of the game in recent years, playing for the Tri-State team in the BIG3 league and serving as an assistant coach at Muncie Central, where Thompson is now the head coach.

Wells and McCallum remain the only players in program history to have their numbers retired. Their jerseys hang in the rafters of Worthen Arena.

The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame also recently announced its 2019 induction class, which features Ball State rebounding king Ed Butler. Butler graduated in 1964 as the Cardinals' career scoring leader and continues to hold the school record for career rebounds despite playing before freshmen were eligible for competition.

Twenty-Five Years and Still in the Game, Bonzi Celebrates Silver Anniversary

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