YEM – New Yemen coach Wells returns to Asian basketball

SAN‘A’ (YBA) - Yemen this week handed their national team reins to Ozell Wells.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Wells has coached basketball in a lot of places. In fact, Yemen will be the 30th country that he has done basketball-related work in.

Asia certainly knows about him because he's had jobs in Qatar, Syria, China and Saudi Arabia.

Greg Kelser, who famously teamed up with Magic Johnson to win the NCAA title with Michigan State in 1978 before embarking on a career in the NBA, knows Wells.

"Ozell has worked my basketball camps in Michigan in recent years," Kelser said to FIBA.com.

"I find him to be an outstanding teacher of the game and his passion and enthusiasm for working with aspiring students are a constant. This appears evident in the fact that he will travel most anywhere there is opportunity. Ozell was without a doubt an asset while working with me.”

The 32-year-old Wells, who is an ordained minister, is doing some scouting in Tallinn with the Estonian domestic play-off finals tipping off on Saturday.

He gave this interview to FIBA.com

FIBA: Ozell, tell us a little about yourself. We understand you played college basketball at Michigan.

Wells: I wasn't recruited but signed on as a preferred walk-on. I got injured and transferred away to a sister school in the NAIA, the University of Michigan-Dearborn. The injury got worse and I had to walk away from basketball. I then went directly into coaching. I was an assistant in the CBA but was called a consultant because I was a minor. I had just turned 18.

FIBA: Wow. You really started coaching at a young age.

Wells: Yes, it was amazing. I called Mark Hughes, the captain of the 1989 Michigan team that won the national championship and asked him what I should do. He said, 'What do you want to do?' and I said, 'I don't know what I can do.' I wanted to stay close to basketball and Mark said, 'Come up to camp.' Boom boom boom - here we are.

FIBA: What is your connection with Greg Kelser?

Wells: I used to direct his summer camps in the US for kids on and off. When I'm in the country, I would do a camp for him. If I was there for longer than a month, I would do a month of his camps.

FIBA: You ended up going abroad to coach. How old were you when you first left?

Wells: When I started coaching in Saudi Arabia, I was 19 years old and it was at Al Hilala Al Saudi Club in Riyadh.

FIBA: How did the Yemen coaching job become yours?

Wells: It was almost a happenstance. I was in Germany doing a clinic for Molten and I went to a park in Wuppertal to see some kids play, some kids from a camp that I had just done, and I wanted to talk to them and hang out a little bit and see how they were doing. I had also spent a week in Wuppertal doing a camp over Christmas and those kids were at this park. A former Yemen national team player happened to be there and came running over to me, 'Everyone is talking about you!’ They tell me you are a great coach.' I handed them my card and it said FIBA Coach on it. I then went back to the apartment where I was staying and I had some emails from Steve Devoss, the president of Global Sports Partners, and he said that Yemen were looking for a national team coach and it was amazing how the pieces just fell into place. It's like throwing pieces in the air, and they fall and the puzzle is put together. I only found out I was going to get the job on Monday. They said, 'We're ready. We want you. We need you!'

FIBA: What competition will Yemen be in this year?

Wells: They are playing in the West Asian Basketball Federation national team tournament. I think three teams will go from there to the FIBA Asian Championship in August to find out which teams go to Turkey for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

FIBA: What will it take to get Yemen to the FIBA Asia Championship?

Wells: If I can get these guys together, and get them to understand how to play defense first. Defense translates into wins, which translates into qualification which translates into exposure.

FIBA: What next?

Wells: They say they want me there as soon as possible. I'll fly to San‘a’ (capital of Yemen) where they have a new international airport and there we'll select players. I still have a lot more talking to do with the YBA (Yemen Basketball Association). I'm waiting on them to let me know when I'm flying.

FIBA: You also have nationality in the Dominican Republic?

Wells: Yes, soy DOMINICANO. I, like many other famous Dominican athlees, actors, etc, am proud to let it be known that I support and love the Republica Dominicana. I have a basketball academy in Puerto Plata. I'm a partner with another basketball academy in Santiago. So I spend a lot of time there in the summers. I work with my academy in the Dominican Republic when I'm not coaching over here. I also periodically coach at home in the fall, winter or spring."

FIBA: You are also an ordained minister?

Wells: I sure am.

FIBA: When did this happen?

Wells: I became an ordained minister just after I coached in Saudi Arabia.

FIBA: How does being an ordained minister impact your coaching?

Wells: I get the opportunity to teach life principles and positive behavior to kids and adults. At the grass roots level, players are kids and they’re in need of guidance. Look at the actions of some guys who have played in America. There are players that have not had positive male influences in their lives. They come from single-parent families. And that is not just in the US, but abroad. I’ve seen it when I have camps abroad, like in Germany, Syria. I'd like to help the kids exhibit positive behavior on the court and in the community.

FIBA