Jerry Lee Wells (January 18, 1944 – May 26, 2014) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played at Ralph Bunche High School in his hometown of

Glasgow, Kentucky Glasgow is a home rule-class city in Barren County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. Glasgow is the principal city of the Glasgow micropolitan area, which comprises Barren and Metcalfe counties. The population was 14,028 ...

, and committed to play for the Oklahoma City Chiefs alongside high school teammate Charlie Hunter as the first two African-Americans to play for the Chiefs basketball team. Wells' scoring ability helped take the Stars to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. He led the Chiefs in scoring during his junior and senior seasons. Chiefs head coach

Abe Lemons A.E. "Abe" Lemons (November 21, 1922 – September 2, 2002) was an American college basketball player and coach. As a head coach at Oklahoma City University, Pan American University and the University of Texas at Austin, he compiled a record of 5 ...

stated that, "for his size, ells wasas good as a player I've had in 10 years at OCU" and "an All-American if there ever was one". Wells was selected by the

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

as the 16th overall pick in the 1966 NBA draft but he never played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1966. Wells played for the Muskegon Panthers of the

North American Basketball League The North American Basketball League (NABL) is an American minor professional basketball league organization founded in 2016. History Formed in 2016, the NABL began with 10 teams based in the South and Southwest regions of the United States. ...

(NABL) from 1966 until the team folded five games into the 1967–68 season. Wells was inducted into the Oklahoma City Stars Hall of Fame in 1986.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Jerry Lee 1944 births 2014 deaths African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kentucky Cincinnati Royals draft picks Guards (basketball) Oklahoma City Stars men's basketball players People from Glasgow, Kentucky 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people