Miami Ohio University Athletics
Ayers and Suns Embark on NBA Finals This Week
7/6/2021 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
There is extra buzz around this year's NBA Finals for Miami Athletics and Miami Basketball as one of its own is in the hunt for the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. Former Miami men's basketball standout Randy Ayers '78, Med '81 is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns and is taking part in his second NBA Final run during an NBA coaching career that spans more than two decades.
At Miami, Ayers was a four-year letterwinner who earned All-Mid-American Conference accolades in each of his four seasons and who still ranks among Miami's all-time top 25 scorers. His 1978 Miami team knocked off defending national champion Marquette University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
He got his coaching start as an assistant at Miami, which started a nearly 20-year stretch coaching in the collegiate ranks. It included a head coaching stint at Ohio State (1989-97) where he led the Buckeyes to two consecutive No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, was twice named Big Ten Coach of the Year and earned Associated Press National Coach of the Year honors in 1991.
Ayers has been inducted into both the Miami Athletics Hall of Fame and the Cradle of Coaches Association and also was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.
Ayers and the Suns defeated The Los Angeles Clippers in six games to capture the Western Conference title and take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals, which begin Tuesday, July 6.
MORE ON AYERS
Dayton Daily News: Ayers, Springfield and Miami legend, heading to NBA Finals for first time in 20 Years
Arizona Republic: "Every step of the way'" Monty Williams, Randy Ayers share special moment before Game 6 Win
At Miami, Ayers was a four-year letterwinner who earned All-Mid-American Conference accolades in each of his four seasons and who still ranks among Miami's all-time top 25 scorers. His 1978 Miami team knocked off defending national champion Marquette University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
He got his coaching start as an assistant at Miami, which started a nearly 20-year stretch coaching in the collegiate ranks. It included a head coaching stint at Ohio State (1989-97) where he led the Buckeyes to two consecutive No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, was twice named Big Ten Coach of the Year and earned Associated Press National Coach of the Year honors in 1991.
Ayers has been inducted into both the Miami Athletics Hall of Fame and the Cradle of Coaches Association and also was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.
Ayers and the Suns defeated The Los Angeles Clippers in six games to capture the Western Conference title and take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals, which begin Tuesday, July 6.
MORE ON AYERS
Dayton Daily News: Ayers, Springfield and Miami legend, heading to NBA Finals for first time in 20 Years
Arizona Republic: "Every step of the way'" Monty Williams, Randy Ayers share special moment before Game 6 Win
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