Ex-Terps star Wells working on a ‘new deal’

He’s leaving the Philippines after a fight with teammates

Former Maryland basketball star Dez Wells, who left the Philippines last week after being involved in a reported fight with three teammates, declined to comment Tuesday about the incident but said in a text message he would talk once his next deal “goes through after Thanksgiving.”

Wells, who played from the Terps from 2012 through 2015 after starting his college career at Xavier, was leading the Philippine Basketball Association in scoring at over 37 points a game, fractions ahead of former Clemson star K.J. McDaniels.

The fight between Wells and teammates reportedly occurred last Tuesday at a team practice for the San Miguel Beermen. The other three players, who have yet to be identified, have reportedly been suspended from the team. Wells would have been suspended, but opted to return to the U.S.

The Philippines was the fourth overseas stop for Wells since graduating Maryland after the 2014-15 season, in which he and then-freshman guard Melo Trimble led the Terps to a 28-7 record and their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since Mark Turgeon was hired in 2011. He also played for two teams in Italy as well as in Greece.

Wells, who was named first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches as a senior, also spent time in the NBA G League with the affiliate of the Oklahoma City Thunder known as the Blue.

Despite a stellar career at Maryland in which he scored nearly 1,400 points in three seasons, he went undrafted by the NBA. Wells finished his career No. 20 on the Terps’ all-time scoring list and was recently passed by senior guard Anthony Cowan Jr.

After starting his career at Xavier, Wells came to Maryland when he was wrongfully accused of sexual assault at the Cincinnati school. Charges against Wells were immediately dropped by a local district attorney. Wells wound up suing the school and its president and settling out of court before his senior year in College Park.

Wells was one of the team’s most popular players during his college career, and is one of several who currently appear on a pregame promotional on the large video board at Xfinity Center — along with former teammates Trimble, who now plays in Austalia, and Jake Layman, now in his fourth NBA season and first with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Bill Neff, Wells’ agent, did not respond to an interview request.