LOS ANGELES — The setting seems poetic as Warriors rookie forward Jordan Bell will spend his 23rd birthday in the town that shaped him.

After the Warriors play the Clippers on Saturday afternoon, Bell plans to stay in Los Angeles on Sunday with his mother, Carolyn Gray, and four siblings to celebrate his big day. Presents, a cake and familial love await. Bell might not be in a good mood, though.

That’s because Bell has posted what he called “up and down” performances in his first three hometown visits against the Lakers (twice) and the Clippers (once). Though he has averaged 6.7 points on 69.2-percent shooting and 2.3 rebounds in 16 minutes through three games in Los Angeles, Bell has remained self critical about how he has played in his hometown. Want Warriors news in your inbox? Sign up for the free DubsDaily newsletter.

“I don’t really look at numbers, though. I look at the effort and the production I put in,” Bell told the Bay Area News Group. “It keeps me motivated to try to be the best I can be, and not to try to live up to anybody’s expectations. I try to exceed my own.”

Bell’s motivation can be traced to his four years at Long Beach Poly High School, a place that positively molded his game and character through adversity.

“I’m so proud of who he’s becoming as a man. I don’t know without all of the support that he’s had, if he would have become this person,” said Sharrief Metoyer, who was Bell’s head coach at Long Beach Poly. “There’s so many things he has to learn to navigate. But I think thus far in his career he’s done a good job of that. I’m hopeful the lessons I taught him or anybody else has helped him become who he has become now.” To view this podcast on your mobile device click here.

Back then, Bell did not just have to deal with doubts of whether he would ever play in the NBA. He had to deal with skepticism he could even finish high school.

Bell was kicked off Long Beach Poly’s freshman football team after stealing a teammate’s wallet and jewelry. It was retaliation after he suspected that teammate of doing the same thing to him. Instead of facing expulsion, Bell received a lifeline. Metoyer pleaded to administrators to let Bell stay at Long Beach Poly, promising they would not regret the decision.

“He was still a kind-hearted kid and good kid that was undirected and misguided at that time,” said Metoyer, now an independent-studies teacher at Educational Partnership High School in Long Beach. “I knew that he wanted to play basketball. When you know that somebody wants to do something, you use that as a carrot.”

So, Metoyer outlined rules that Bell had to follow.

With Bell placed in a special program for students with behavior issues, he had to avoid fights and maintain at least a 2.3 GPA. Metoyer required Bell and his players to wear a dress shirt and tie to school on game days. For complete Warriors coverage

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Although Bell largely credited his single mother for making ends meet, she had to work well before Bell’s school day started. So Metoyer drove Bell to and from school every day after becoming tired of Bell arriving late. Metoyer gave Bell an earful any time he saw him skipping class.

Bell noted “it was pretty easy because I just wanted to play basketball.” And yet …

“It was very hard playing for him. He expected a lot,” Bell said of Metoyer. “But I think that’s the way I am now. I expect so much out of myself. I’m always knowing you can do something more or a little better.”

Metoyer believed Bell could become better with tough competition. So when Bell was a sophomore, he matched Bell against upperclassmen. Metoyer also believed Bell could become better if he did not pass up open shots. So any time Bell did, Metoyer punished him and his teammates with running drills. As with many, Metoyer fell in love with Bell’s strength and athleticism. So Bell sharpened his hand-eye coordination by briefly playing on Long Beach Poly’s volleyball team and regularly playing “Guitar Hero.”

Bell believed those tactics helped him sharpen his aggressiveness. As a result? Bell recalled he posted 16 blocks and 11 rebounds his junior season against Jordan High to silence his opponent’s trash talking. He shot efficiently as a junior (66 percent) and senior (61 percent). He offered a complete game his senior season, averaging 13.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.8 blocks. He threw down too many dunks to count.

Yet, Metoyer remains most impressed with how Bell handled his junior season at the University of Oregon. In a postgame news conference, Bell blamed himself for not boxing out in the waning moments of the Ducks’ NCAA tournament semifinal loss to North Carolina.

“That’s me being mature and understanding I made a mistake and I had to own up to it,” Bell said. “I don’t think it really had anything to do with basketball. It was just me understanding that I messed up. Just like I took all the praise and accolades when I was doing well. I have to take it just as much when I mess up.” Like our Warriors Facebook page for more Warriors news, commentary and conversation.

Bell said he feels compelled to give back to those who helped him.

After purchasing 15 tickets for family and friends in his first game against the Clippers on Oct. 29, Bell has since only handed out the two he is allotted for each game.

After the Warriors secured his rights from Chicago with the 35th pick of the draft, Bell bought a home for his mother and hosted Christmas for his family. Bell also visited Long Beach Poly on the morning of his first game to deliver an important message to the varsity boys basketball team.

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Kurtenbach: What we learned in the Warriors’ superstar-depleted win over the Rockets “He just talked about working hard,” said Shelton Diggs, who is Long Beach Poly’s coach after serving as a junior varsity coach during Bell’s tenure. “When he was here, there were other people ranked higher than him and better than him. But he continued to work and listened to the coaches.”

Bell was pleasantly surprised that the Long Beach Poly students, after initially not focusing on his words, gradually tuned in as he spoke about how his experience with the Jackrabbits “made me a lot tougher.”

“It was cool they actually paid attention when I was talking to them,” Bell said. “I know when I was younger, if somebody else would’ve come in, I probably would’ve just blew them off.”

Thankfully for Bell, he soon had a supporting cast that would not accept such behavior.