Dez Wells

Dezmine Wells (born April 15, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Jilin Northeast Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Xavier Musketeers and Maryland Terrapins.[1][2]

Dez Wells
No. 44 – Jilin Northeast Tigers
PositionShooting guard / small forward
LeagueCBA
Personal information
Born (1992-04-15) April 15, 1992
Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2015: undrafted
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2016Oklahoma City Blue
2016Doxa Lefkadas
2017Oklahoma City Blue
2017–2018Scandone Avellino
2018–2019Oklahoma City Blue
2019VL Pesaro
2019San Miguel Beermen
2019–2020Zhejiang Lions
2020–2021Jiangsu Dragons
2021–2022Qingdao Eagles
2023Zhejiang Lions
2023–presentJilin Northeast Tigers
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

Wells played high school basketball at Word of God Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina where he was a friend of and teammate with current Houston Rockets guard John Wall.[3]

College career

Wells began his college career at Xavier, where he was an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selection.[4] He was expelled in 2012 due to a "serious violation" of the code of student conduct after a female student alleged he committed sexual assault. Wells also was suspended by the NCAA for being involved in a huge fight after a game against the Cincinnati Bearcats in December 2011. A grand jury did not indict him for the assault, and Wells later sued the university for false accusation. The school was asked to hold off deciding their case until after the criminal case was settled and the prosecutor slammed the school for their unfair procedures. The issue was settled out of court after a judge ruled the lawsuit could go forward to discovery.[5]

The NCAA waived the usual redshirt year requirement for Wells, making him eligible immediately at another university. He transferred to Maryland and led the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game as a sophomore.[6] The team missed the NCAA Tournament despite defeating Duke twice.[5]

As a junior, Wells averaged 14.9 points per game for the Terrapins. Maryland again missed the NCAA Tournament.[6]

A wrist injury caused Wells to miss a month of games as a senior. Nevertheless, he scored 26 points and added seven rebounds and four assists in Maryland's 59–53 win over fifth-ranked Wisconsin.[6] He was a First Team All-Big Ten selection.[7] Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said Wells "was not going to let us lose."[5] Wells's last collegiate game was against West Virginia in Columbus, Ohio in the Round of 32 of the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. He tallied nine points and eight turnovers in a 69–59 loss.[3]

Professional career

Oklahoma City Blue (2015–2016)

ESPN's Chad Ford considered Wells a potential second-round pick in the 2015 NBA draft,[3] but he went undrafted. He also struggled dribbling with his left hand, which lowered his draft stock. He subsequently joined the Washington Wizards for the 2015 NBA Summer League.[8] However, he was later ruled out of Summer League play due to thumb injury.[9] On September 25, 2015, Wells signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder.[10] However, he was waived on October 22 after appearing in one preseason game.[11] On November 3, he was acquired by the Oklahoma City Blue as an affiliate player from the Thunder.[12] On November 14, he made his professional debut in a 110–104 loss to the Austin Spurs, recording 19 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal.[13] On March 31, he was waived by the Blue after suffering a season-ending injury.[14]

Greece (2016)

In July 2016, Wells signed with Tigers Tübingen of the Basketball Bundesliga, but his contract was voided on August 18 after he didn't pass his physical.[15] On September 23, 2016, Wells signed with Doxa Lefkadas of the Greek Basket League.[16] He left the team after appearing in 9 games.[17]

Scandone Avellino and Oklahoma City Blue (2017–2019)

On January 18, 2017, he was acquired by the Oklahoma City Blue.[18] Wells was added to the Oklahoma City Blue training camp roster on October 23, 2018.[19]

VL Pesaro (2019)

On April 10, 2019, he has signed a contract with VL Pesaro of the Italian LBA.[20]

San Miguel Beermen (2019)

In August 2019, Wells joined San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association for the East Asia Super League Terrific 12 and the PBA Governors' Cup.[21] In his PBA debut, Wells had an impressive statline of 42 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in a 130–119 win over Phoenix Fuelmasters.[22] He averaged 37.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 block per game.[23]

Zhejiang Lions (2019–2020)

Wells spent much of the 2019–20 season with Zhejiang Lions in China. He averaged 31.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.2 steals per game.[23]

Jiangsu Dragons (2020–2021)

On September 21, 2020, Wells signed with Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese league.[23] On April 10, 2021, Wells scored 43 points in a 94-98 losing effort to the Tianjin Pioneers.[24]

Qingdao Eagles (2021–2022)

On December 6, 2021, Wells signed with Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese league.[25]

Personal life

Wells is the son of Pamela Wells, who was an All-American basketball player at St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, N.C. He has two sisters, Jocelyn Brand and Jazmine Wilson and majored in American Studies.[1] He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in American Studies on December 19, 2015.[26]

References
  1. "Dez Wells Biography". UMTerps.com. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  2. "Dez Wells Player Profile". RealGM. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  3. Allen, Scott (March 23, 2015). "John Wall says the next stop for Maryland's Dez Wells is the NBA". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  4. "Dunphy, Nicholson Take Top A-10 Men's Basketball Honors". Atlantic 10 Conference. March 5, 2012. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  5. Yomtov, Jesse (February 25, 2015). "For Maryland's Dez Wells, things come full circle". USA Today. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  6. "Maryland to Honor Wells, Whose Leadership Spurred Success". CBS Sports. Associated Press. February 27, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  7. "2014-15 All-Big Ten Men's Basketball Team" (PDF). CSTV.com. March 9, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  8. "Dez Wells to play for Wizards' summer league team". WashingtonPost.com. June 26, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  9. "Dez Wells will miss NBA Summer League with Wizards because of thumb injury". BaltimoreSun.com. July 12, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  10. "Thunder Adds Stone, Wells and Zanna to Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  11. "Thunder Waives Qualls, Stone, Wells and Zanna". NBA.com. October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  12. "Oklahoma City Blue Announces Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. November 3, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  13. "Oklahoma City Falls To Austin In Season Opener". NBA.com. November 14, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  14. "NBA D-League Transactions". NBA.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  15. "Former Maryland basketball player Dez Wells fails physical, won't play for German team". testudotimes.com. August 19, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  16. "Doxa Lefkadas sign Dezmine Wells". A1Basket.gr. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  17. "International Regular Season Stats". realgm.com. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  18. "NBA D-League Transactions". NBA.com. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  19. "Oklahoma City Blue Announces Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. October 23, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  20. "VL Pesaro signs Dezmine Wells". Sportando. April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  21. Leongson, Randolph (August 17, 2019). "San Miguel bringing in Dez Wells in bid to complete Grand Slam". SPIN.ph. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  22. Terrado, Reuben (September 26, 2019). "Dez Wells hits 42 as San Miguel rolls past Phoenix to jumpstart Grand Slam bid". SPIN.ph. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  23. "Dezmine Wells signs at Jiangsu Dragons". Asia Basket. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  24. "Jiangsu Dragons 94 - Tianjin Pioneers 98". EuroBasket. April 10, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  25. "CBA官网更新外籍球员注册信息：约翰逊，威尔斯加盟青岛队". Hupu (in Chinese). December 6, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  26. "Maryland Athletics Celebrates Winter Graduates". UMTerps.com. December 20, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
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