As the last Flintstone and leading scorer returning from last year’s championship team, Charlie Bell will lead the charge for the defending NCAA champions this season.

In Sunday’s season-opening 97-61 win against Oakland University, the senior guard Bell became just the second player in MSU history to record a triple-double, making it clear he can handle the burden.

Bell’s 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists put him in the highly respected company of Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Unlike Johnson, Bell has the chance to accomplish something “Magic” never could - a repeat championship.

As a senior, Bell said he’s looking forward to the challenge of being a leader. He said it’s his turn to pass on the knowledge that Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson passed to him.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “My freshman year I might have got down, but I’ve been here too long.”

Last year Bell set career highs in three-point field goals made (38), free-throws made (93), free-throw percentage (.802), rebounds (190), assists (123), blocks (8), steals (47) and points per game (11.5).

However, Bell is the first to admit he was hesitant to take charge last year. He said as a junior he waited for the seniors to step up and make things happen.

Bell pointed to last year’s 53-49 loss at Wright State (7-18 last season), where he had eight points in 36 minutes, as a perfect example.

“Last year during games like that I kind of waited on Morris to do something,” he said. “This year it’s going to be on me. Once we start having bad games like that I’m going to be the first one to get in there and pick everybody up and get everyone going.”

Bell said losing to a team of Wright State’s caliber was like the “The Twilight Zone,” but added MSU will run into games like that again. He said the Spartans need to stay focused and go at every play as hard as they can to avoid those situations.

When Cleaves fractured his foot last October, it was Bell who assumed the point guard position. But Bell said he wasn’t very confident with his ball-handling skills at the time. However, he said last year’s situation made him a better all-around player.

“I told coach I would do it because I thought that was best for the team,” he said. “I did a good job of doing it, but this year I’m more prepared. I’m a lot more confident of making everybody better on the floor and getting guys more open shots.”

Bell said this year’s team has a handful of players who could be in the NBA. He said the immense depth of talent has made practice more competitive and that helps everyone.

“I don’t think I’m going to play against anybody who’s as athletic as (sophomore forward) Jason Richardson or somebody who can shoot and handle the ball like (freshman point guard) Marcus (Taylor) can,” he said. “Other guys around the country don’t have the luxury of going up against guys like that and I’m using it to my advantage.”

Senior forward Andre Hutson said head coach Tom Izzo has put a lot of pressure on Bell to be a vocal leader from the guard position. He said Bell has improved his leadership abilities every practice, and by midseason it should be natural.

“It’s definitely a big challenge for Charlie,” he said. “He’s had some struggles in a couple practices, but for the most part he’s doing a pretty good job. I think he’s stepping up to the challenge.”

Being vocal leaders came natural for Cleaves and Peterson last year, Izzo said. He said this year is different, adding the level of leadership is not of championship quality, but it’s slowly getting better.

Izzo said every sports team that makes a Final Four has one thing in common - great leadership.

“Each sport that does has a great leader with the ability to lead from within the team,” he said. “That’s why we’re trying to do some things to grow leaders.”

Bell said he knows Izzo is hard on him in practice because he wants him to play better. He said Cleaves taught him to take in what Izzo says but not to get down about it.

Being a vocal leader is not painful or difficult, Bell said. He said it’s just different.

“For me it’s something that I have to force myself to do,” he said. “It’s not painful, it’s just different. It’s going to take some time to get used to, but I’m very capable of doing it.”

Taylor said this year’s Spartans are different from last year’s, but added the talent is still there. He said the only major difference is that the leadership will come from different sources.

“The past is done with,” he said. “We’re just taking the guys we have now and trying to win a championship like we did last year.

“We still have tremendous seniors. Now it’s just a different twist.”