 Ayers in 2009. | |
| Phoenix Suns | |
|---|---|
| Position | Assistant coach / Coaching advisor |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | April 16, 1956 Springfield, Ohio, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | North (Springfield, Ohio) |
| College | Miami (Ohio) (1974–1978) |
| NBA draft | 1978: 3rd round, 53rd overall pick |
| Selected by the Chicago Bulls | |
| Coaching career | 1979–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1978–1979 | Reno Bighorns |
| As coach: | |
| 1979–1981 | Miami (Ohio) (graduate assistant) |
| 1982–1984 | Army (assistant) |
| 1984–1989 | Ohio State (assistant) |
| 1989–1997 | Ohio State |
| 1999–2003 | Philadelphia 76ers (assistant) |
| 2003–2004 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2005–2007 | Orlando Magic (assistant) |
| 2007–2009 | Washington Wizards (assistant) |
| 2010–2012 | New Orleans Hornets (assistant) |
| 2014–2015 | New Orleans Pelicans (assistant) |
| 2019–present | Phoenix Suns (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Randall Duane Ayers (born April 16, 1956) is an American basketball coach who is currently an assistant coach (through a coaching advisor position) for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. Ayers grew up in Springfield, Ohio and played college basketball at Miami University 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. He began his coaching career that year as an assistant coach at Miami and played one year of professional basketball for the Reno Bighorns of the World Basketball Association. After four years on the Miami staff, Ayers was an assistant at Army 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 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.