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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 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 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 124β108 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 2003β04 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.
As a sophomore in 1975β76, Ayers became a starter and averaged 10.9 ppg as the team finished 18β8 and second in the MAC. He was again named honorable mention All-MAC.
As a junior in 1976β77, 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 20β6 and were MAC co-champions.
In his senior year of 1977β78, 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 19β9 but they earned an outright MAC championship and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament. Miami opened the tournament with a thrilling 84β81 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, 91β69, 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.
The 1990β91 Ohio State Buckeyes finished 27β4 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 1991β92, Ohio State went 26β6, 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 1992β93. Despite peaking at #21 in the AP Poll, Ohio State finished 15β13 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 13β16, the first losing season in 17 years.
In June 1994, the National Collegiate Athletic 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 6β22 in 1994β95.
On March 10, 1997, Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger fired Ayers. In eight seasons, Ayers had a cumulative 124β108 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.
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.
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 and played pro basketball.
He was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
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