Randall Duane Ayers (born April 16, 1956) is an American
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 (appro ...
coach who is currently an assistant coach (through a coaching advisor position) for the
Phoenix Suns of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
. Ayers grew up in
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in Clark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in southwestern Ohio along the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, about west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and northeast of ...
and played college basketball at
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...
in Ohio. He has been a basketball coach since 1979.
He was selected in the third round of the
1978 NBA draft by the
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...
. He played one year of professional basketball for the Reno Bighorns of the
World Basketball Association. In 1979, he returned to Miami as an assistant coach. After four years on the Miami staff, Ayers was an assistant at
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
from 1982 to 1984.
From 1984 to 1989, Ayers was an assistant at
Ohio State under Eldon Miller and
Gary Williams and was promoted to head coach in 1989. In eight seasons at Ohio State, Ayers had a 124–108 record with three straight
NCAA tournament appearances from 1990 to 1992. In 1991 and 1992, Ohio State won back-to-back
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
regular season titles and top-five national finishes. However, amidst declining team performance and an ethics violation, Ayers was fired in 1997.
Since leaving Ohio State, Ayers has coached in the NBA, starting as an assistant with the
Philadelphia 76ers from 1999 to 2003. Ayers was head coach for the 76ers in the 2003–04 season, the last head coaching job he would hold. Subsequently, Ayers was an assistant for the
Orlando Magic from 2005 to 2007,
Washington Wizards from 2007 to 2009, the
New Orleans Hornets (later Pelicans) from 2010 to 2012 and 2014 to 2015, and then the Phoenix Suns beginning in 2019.
Early life
Ayers was born in
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in Clark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in southwestern Ohio along the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, about west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and northeast of ...
, the fourth of eight children of Frank Ayers and Betty Basey. He played basketball at
North High School in Springfield, where he was named Ohio high school Class AAA (big-school) player of the year in 1974.
College career
Ayers attended
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...
in
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...
, where he played basketball. Ayers made his mark more as a defender, rebounder and playmaker than as a scorer, as Miami teammates
Archie Aldridge as well as Chuck Goodyear provided much of the offense. As a freshman in 1974–75, Ayers saw significant playing time, averaged 8.5 points per game (ppg) with a .560 field goal percentage as the Redskins, coached by
Darrell Hedric, posted a 19–7 record.
He was named honorable mention All-
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...
(MAC)
As a sophomore in 1975–76, Ayers became a starter and averaged 10.9 ppg as the team finished 18–8 and second in the MAC. He was again named honorable mention All-MAC.
As a junior in 1976–77, Ayers increased his scoring average to 12.8 ppg and 8.1 rebounds per game (rpg) as, for the third season, he was named honorable mention All-MAC. The Redskins posted an overall record of 20–6 and were MAC co-champions.
In his senior year of 1977–78, Ayers increased his scoring average for the third straight year with 13.4 ppg and had 7.0 rpg. He was named second-team All-MAC as his teammate, Archie Aldridge, earned MAC Player of the Year. Ayers was also named Miami's Defensive Player of the Year.
Miami's record was 19–9 but they earned an outright MAC championship and earned a berth in the
NCAA tournament.
Miami opened the tournament with a thrilling 84–81 overtime win over defending national champion
Marquette, a game in which Ayers had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds plus three assists. In the next round they were defeated by eventual national champion
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
, 91–69, although Ayers had another big game with 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Ayers earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1978 and master's degree in 1981, both from Miami.
Professional playing career
He was drafted in the third round of the
1978 NBA draft by the
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...
, but was cut from the team and then played professionally in
Reno, Nevada
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...
for the Reno Bighorns in the fledgling
Western Basketball Association.
Ayers earned second-team all-league honors, but the WBA folded after one season.
Coaching career
Early coaching career (1979–1989)
In 1979, Ayers returned to Miami University for graduate school and became a graduate assistant for his former coach Hedric.
After completing graduate school, Ayers became an assistant coach at
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
, where he spent two seasons until 1983.
Then from 1983 to 1991, Ayers was an assistant coach at
Ohio State, first as a part-time assistant under
Eldon Miller until 1986. New head coach
Gary Williams retained Ayers on staff and promoted Ayers to full-time in 1987.
Ohio State head coach (1989–1997)
On July 3, 1989, Ohio State promoted Ayers to head coach after Williams left to take the head coaching job at
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
.
Ayers led Ohio State to a 17–13 record in his debut season; Ohio State lost in the second round of the
1990 NCAA tournament to eventual national champion
UNLV.
The 1990–91 Ohio State Buckeyes finished 27–4 with a share of the Big Ten regular season title, the program's first conference title in 20 years. In the
1991 NCAA tournament, Ohio State advanced to the Sweet 16. After the season, Ayers was unanimously voted by peer Big Ten coaches as
Big Ten Coach of the Year and won the
Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year award.
Then in 1991–92, Ohio State went 26–6, won the Big Ten title outright, and made the Elite Eight round of the
1992 NCAA tournament.
This was the first time since 1964 that Ohio State won two consecutive conference titles, and would be their last conference titles in the pre-
conference tournament era.
Ohio State forward
Jim Jackson became the fourth overall pick in the
1992 NBA draft.
Although it was not apparent at the time, Ayers' tenure had crested. Ohio State significantly regressed in 1992–93. Despite peaking at #21 in the
AP Poll, Ohio State finished 15–13 and exited after the first round of the
1993 National Invitation Tournament with a loss to Miami University. The next season, Ohio State dropped to 13–16, the first losing season in 17 years.
In June 1994, the
National Collegiate Athletics Association placed Ohio State on one year's probation after finding that Ayers improperly met with a high school recruit and basketball coach during a restricted time period and paid $60 to the coach. Also that year, Ohio State power forward
Lawrence Funderburke was selected in the second round of the
NBA draft. However, Ohio State continued to struggle with three straight losing seasons, as low as 6–22 in 1994–95.
On March 10, 1997, Ohio State athletic director
Andy Geiger fired Ayers. In eight seasons, Ayers had a cumulative 124–108 record at Ohio State.
On April 29 that year, Ohio State reached a nearly $637,000 settlement with Ayers to buy out the remaining two years of his contract.
Philadelphia 76ers assistant and head coach (1997–2004)
Ayers was named head coach of the
Philadelphia 76ers on June 20, 2003,
after serving as an assistant coach with the team since 1997. He compiled a 21–31 record during the
2003–04 season, but was fired in the middle of the season.
Later NBA career (2005–present)
He then served as an assistant coach for the
Orlando Magic. On July 24, 2007, Ayers was hired as an assistant coach for the
Washington Wizards. On August 5, 2009, Ayers returned to the
Philadelphia 76ers to serve as an assistant coach under
Eddie Jordan. Ayers then joined the coaching staff of the New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans) in 2010, continuing his position until 2012. He returned with the Pelicans for the
2014–15 NBA season before being hired as a scout for the
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...
on November 3, 2015.
On June 26, 2019, Ayers was hired as an assistant coach for the
Phoenix Suns. On June 28, 2022, Ayers was moved to the team's coaching advisor position, which allows him to take on a smaller role with the coaching staff and spend more time with his family, as well as remain a key part of the Suns' coaching staff.
Head coaching record
College
NBA
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Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
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Personal life
Ayers' youngest brother,
Tim Ayers, served as mayor and city commissioner of Springfield, Ohio from 1984 to 1990.
Ayers married high school Spanish teacher Carol Denise Peery in 1983. They have two sons. Ryan Ayers (born July 16, 1986) played college basketball at
Notre Dame and was later an assistant coach there.
Cameron Ayers (born September 18, 1991) played college basketball at
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...
and played pro basketball.
He was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
References
External links
Randy Ayers profile on NBA.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayers, Randy
1956 births
Living people
American men's basketball players
Army Black Knights men's basketball coaches
Basketball coaches from Ohio
Basketball players from Ohio
Chicago Bulls draft picks
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Miami RedHawks men's basketball players
New Orleans Hornets assistant coaches
New Orleans Pelicans assistant coaches
Orlando Magic assistant coaches
Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches
Philadelphia 76ers head coaches
Phoenix Suns assistant coaches
Sportspeople from Springfield, Ohio
Washington Wizards assistant coaches
Western Basketball Association players