Culture club: Wells proud of Adelaide’s evolution

While falling just short is tough to take, Mike Wells couldn’t be prouder of what he’s helped build at the Adelaide 36ers and believes it’s only the beginning with this culture now in place.

After a lifetime as an assistant coach, largely in the NBA, Wells arrived ahead of NBL25 expecting a similar role. Instead, he was quickly thrust into the head coaching position and spent much of that first season fighting against the tide.

Coming out of that wild NBL25 campaign, the opportunity was there to put his stamp on the group.

It wasn’t done alone. Alongside owner Grant Kelley, chief executive Nic Barbato and general manager Matt Weston, the foundation was laid for a new direction.

Finishing just a missed shot away from a championship in Sydney on Sunday, it’s that cultural shift that leaves Wells most proud.

“For changing the culture for us from what I kinda took over last year and the dysfunction to try and change things, and to achieve that, I feel very proud of the group and the professionalism in there,” Wells said.

“I had three captains in Bryce (Cotton), DJ (Vasiljevic) and Ice (Isaac Humphries), and they helped plant and drive the culture change internally. They owned it, and we had zero issues this year.

“So all the outside noise about Mike Wells or other players, all that stuff, it was just noise. Internally, we had it right the entire year.

“It’s set for next year and beyond with the type of players we have. It’s a very, very professional environment.

“I think every guy in there would say they enjoyed that room, and for me, that’s the number one thing I’m proud of.”

After being bundled out in the NBL25 Play-In Game by South East Melbourne, Wells had a clear vision for what he wanted this group to become.

Now, despite the heartbreak of Sunday’s Game 5 loss, where Adelaide led by seven at three quarter-time, by six inside two minutes and by four with 41 seconds remaining, the outlook is vastly different.

That’s because the core is already locked in, with Bryce Cotton, Isaac Humphries, Zylan Cheatham, Flynn Cameron, Nick Rakocevic, Isaac White and DJ Vasiljevic all set to return.

"It's a different ending to last year which was so bitter and this one is bitter in a different way because we were right on the cusp of winning a championship so that's kind of hard," Wells said.

"I'll probably take a moment to step back from this one because we have such a quality group in there, but I have some ideas of what I think the group needs after coaching them after so long and they've just been outstanding.

"Last year I was clear before I got on the bus that I knew exactly what we needed to do, but this one I don’t want to make a rash decision because it's so emotional right now.

"Most of them (players) are actually under contract and we went out and got Flynn first and then Bryce joins, and that's the back court for the future and with those other guys, that's one thing I'm super proud of that there's a foundation from year one to year two with what we've achieved.

"Now you get to start to tinker with it a little bit."