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Oklahoma City University Athletics

Oklahoma City University
Home Of Champions|73 National Championships
Jerry Lee Wells

Men's Basketball

OCU all-American Wells dies

Wells paced Chiefs to three NCAA Tournament appearances from 1963-66

Jerry Lee Wells averaged 18.9 points and 5.6 rebounds a game for OCU in 1963-66.
GLASGOW, Ky. – Former Oklahoma City University basketball all-American Jerry Lee Wells died Monday at 70.
Wells became an NCAA Division I all-American in 1966. Wells and his teammate and fellow Glasgow, Ky., native Charlie Hunter were the first African-American basketball players at Oklahoma City University. Services will be held 11 a.m. Friday at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Glasgow, Ky.
Wells led Oklahoma City in scoring his junior and senior seasons. He produced 27.1 points and 7.8 rebounds a game as a senior and 20.0 points and 6.8 rebounds a game as a junior. Wells' career averages were 18.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest. He made the All-College Tournament all-tournament team twice.
From 1963-66, Wells led the Chiefs to three NCAA Tournament appearances, the 1965 All-College Tournament championship, two All-College Tournament runner-up finishes and a 60-26 record. Wells formed OCU's Big Three alongside Hunter and James Ware.
Abe Lemons guided the Chiefs to a 24-5 record in 1965-66. Oklahoma City's 1965-66 team ended its season in the NCAA Tournament, falling to the eventual national champion Texas Western 89-74 in the first round. Texas Western, now known as Texas-El Paso, featured an all-black starting lineup and became the subject of the movie "Glory Road."
Lemons said of the 6-foot-1 Wells that he was a complete player "with a fine sense of balance, hits inside or out and can play 40 minutes without relief" as well as "an all-American if there ever was one." Lemons also said of Wells that he was "for his size, as good a player as I've had in 10 years at OCU." Wells was known for his leaping ability, like a "coil spring injection."
Wells was one of OCU's eight NCAA basketball all-Americans, including Arnold Short in 1953 and 1954, Hub Reed in 1957 and 1958, Gary Hill (1963), Bud Koper (1964), Gary Gray (1967) and Rich Travis (1968, 1969). Wells joined the OCU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986.
The Cincinnati Royals selected Wells with the 16th overall pick in the second round of the 1966 NBA Draft.
Among Wells' surviving family is his wife Cecilia and son Jerrord. 
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