Jaylen Wells soars from 5-foot-6 Folsom High freshman to 6-7 pro prospect at NBA combine

Maurice Johnson has a story to tell about his client, Jaylen Wells, and it sizes up the man whose game and stature continue to grow.

Wells is never far from a ball. That’s the story in brief. It’s attached to him like an extra thumb.

“He carries a basketball with him all of the time, like a kid, every single day,” said Johnson, a Sacramento native who works for PNW Sports Group agency. “We’re sitting at breakfast recently and I asked Jaylen if he was shooting in bed the previous night, shooting the ball in the air, and of course he had. He can’t get enough of it. This is his thing. His love for the game is so strong, and that’s where he gets his comfort, where he finds his peace.”

That’s why the 2021 Folsom High School graduate and Bee Player of the Year is in his element these days at the NBA draft combine in Chicago. Wells is a late bloomer who continues to bloom. He is an intriguing pro prospect out of Washington State as a 6-foot-7 wing who can handle the ball and defend with tenacity with an attractive catch-and-shoot release from long range.

There’s a spot for people like Wells in the NBA, his agent said. Wells, naturally, agrees.

Wells’ journey started modestly at Folsom, where he went from 5-6 as a freshman to 6-2 as a junior and 6-6 as a senior. In his final year, Wells played point guard, forward and center, averaging 26 points during the COVID-shortened season.

Wells tasted stardom at Sonoma State, where he averaged 22.1 points and 8.1 rebounds as a sophomore Division II All-American. This past season at Washington State, Wells averaged 12.6 points and 4.6 rebounds on the Division I circuit. He was paramount in helping lead WSU to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 16 years.

The draft combine ends Sunday. It is a job fair of sorts in high tops, where athletes get measured, evaluated and interviewed. Next week, Wells will embark on an East Coast tour of sorts to visit NBA teams for pre-draft workouts. His first NBA workout with the Sacramento Kings “was a thrill,” he said.

“It’s been a great experience here,” Wells said from Chicago. “We do a lot of strength and agility testing and scrimmages. I’m getting a lot of experience, meeting a lot of people. It’s like job interviewing. Even in the hotel, you run into people.”

Wells continued: “It’s a dream. I’m really excited about this. I’ve been thinking about this for years.”

Wells isn’t afraid to work. That’s been his attitude since his youth. When his father, Fred, gave him the keys to the car to go enjoy Folsom, Wells didn’t go hang out with friends or head to the mall. He went to the gym. Wells would run laps, shoot hoops, hit the weights before school and after. His grind continues.

“I didn’t have the most common path to where I am now, but something I could control was how hard I worked and how much I put into this,” Wells said. “Being under-recruited and underrated in high school motivated me. Once I got notoriety, that made me work even harder.”

Wells’ father has been there for all of it. He joined his son for a few days in Chicago.

“It’s been cool to have my dad with me throughout this process,” Wells said. “He gives me basketball advice and fatherly advice. I know he’s proud.”

Wells has until May 29 to decide if he wants to return to the college game, though he told The Bee, “I don’t plan on going back to college. I’m solely focused on the NBA.”

Growth in body and game

When Wells hit a growth spurt in high school, he could feel it in his knees and back. He outgrew his pants and shoes.

“My mom (Laketia) kept asking me, ‘Are you growing?’” Wells said. “I didn’t think so, but I was definitely growing, and I was so glad.”

Wells flourished under Folsom High coach Mike Wall, who appreciates the hard workers the most. Wells’ shooting touch was refined by Danielle Viglione, a star shooter for Del Campo High in the 1990s who played at the University of Texas and professionally and is now on the Los Angeles Sparks coaching staff in the WNBA.

Wells has also worked with Sacramento-area conditioning coach/mentor Guss Armstead for years.

Wall sized up Wells this way when he coached him: “The neat thing about Jaylen is he grew, but he didn’t wait to grow, so he worked his butt off to be the best guard he could at 6-2. He kept working hard and developing his game, and when his body caught up and he had the height to go with his game, he became dominant. It’s a lesson in life. You can’t wait to see how you turn out physically, so be the best you can be, and if you get big, you do, or you don’t.”

Wells grew, but he never became a big national recruit. His late growth spurt kept him off the NCAA radar and the COVID shutdowns presented more challenges, including a backlog of players who were granted an extra year of eligibility across the college landscape.

Wells doesn’t turn 21 until Aug. 26. His father is 6-8. Is there more growth in the son?

“I don’t have much facial hair, so I could still be growing,” Wells said with a laugh.

‘Cold blooded killer’

Johnson, the agent representing Wells, said Wells also impresses NBA people with his easy-going personality. Wells is well spoken, engaging and thoughtful.

“Teams invest a lot in players and want to have good people on their teams,” Johnson said. “And Jaylen really loves basketball, so much so that we can’t get him out of the gym. We have to tell him to stop shooting, to take a break. He gets better in any environment. He excels and meets that level and surpasses it. He wants to be better, to be good, to be great.”

Johnson added: “He’s long. He’s athletic. He’s an effortless shooter. He’s smart. He works hard. Those qualities alone mean he has a place in the league. No one has seen the total package yet. There’s still more to show. He’s so nice and soft spoken off the court, but on the court, he’s a different person, a cold-blooded killer with the ball.”

Wells said his message to the 5-6 high school freshmen who dream big is to keep things in proper perspective.

“I would tell them to find your purpose on and off the court,” Wells said. “If you strive to play in high school, find your role, because at 5-6, you’re not going to be that athletic dunker. So be a pesky defender, be a leader, be a good teammate, and give something on the court.”