Ohio State hiring longtime NBA assistant Mike Wells to coaching staff

Ohio State has hired longtime NBA assistant and Central Ohio native Mike Wells to fill out the men’s basketball coaching staff.

Wells has two NBA titles and an Olympic gold medal among his accolades from a coaching career that has spanned more than 30 years and taken him across the world. He replaces Joel Justus, who left Ohio State for a job at Vanderbilt, as an assistant on coach Jake Diebler’s staff.

Wells, 54, most recently spent two years as head coach for the Adalade 36ers in the Australian National Basketball League, where he fell just short of a 2026 NBL title. While with the 36ers, Wells went 41-31 and pushed the Sydney Kings to overtime in a decisive Game 5.

Mike Wells head coach of the 36ers reacts to Bryce Cotton of the 36ers receiving a foul call during game four of the NBL Grand Final series between Adelaide 36ers and Sydney Kings at Adelaide Entertainment Centre, on April 01, 2026, in Adelaide, Australia.

“The players, staff and fans have made my family and me welcome,” Wells told the 36ers’ website after stepping down. “Adelaide is a special place, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been part of the 36ers. But having spent some time back home in Utah with my sons, seeing my dad who is getting older, realizing I have been away from family for much of the past three decades, I know the decision to step down to be with my family is right.”

A native of Mount Vernon, Wells played at Mount Vernon Nazarene before becoming an assistant coach there in 1993. He spent two seasons on staff before starting with a job as an intern with the Houston Rockets in 1994-95, the first of six NBA teams he has worked for. Wells was with the Rockets from 1994-2004, the in 2004-05, the from 2005-09, the from 2009-11, the from 2014-22 and the in 2023-24.