Former Xavier basketball player Dez Wells visiting Kentucky while seeking to transfer

Expelled Xavier basketball player Dez Wells has been on an official recruiting visit to the University of Kentucky since Wednesday and is seriously considering UK as a transfer destination, one of his former high school coaches said on Thursday.

Wells was expelled from Xavier this month for what the school said was a violation of the code of student conduct, but a Hamilton County, Ohio, grand jury decided on Tuesday there was insufficient evidence to indict him on sexual assault charges.

Wells, an athletic, 6-foot-5 wing player who averaged 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds as a freshman for the Musketeers last season, arranged plans to visit UK on Tuesday night, according to Kendrick Williams, who was an assistant coach at Word of God Academy in Raleigh, N.C., when Wells played there and considers himself a mentor to Wells.

Williams said they’ve been in daily contact, including on Thursday afternoon.

“(The UK visit) is going very well,” Williams said. “Coach (John Calipari) has stressed that he wants him, and Dez is just honored and blessed to be in this predicament and be wanted by such a prestigious university.”

Williams said Wells will visit Memphis today and Maryland on Saturday. A final decision would figure to come soon after that, although Williams was unsure exactly when.

Williams said he didn’t know of a favorite among UK, Memphis and Maryland to land Wells.

Williams said Wells had been interested in the University of Louisville for a transfer, but the Cardinals didn’t have an available scholarship.

Wells would presumably be required to sit out a year under NCAA transfer rules, but Williams said Wells hopes to receive a waiver from the NCAA to play immediately this season.

Williams didn’t know what issues Wells might face or overrides he’d need if he tries to enroll at a college whose classes have already started. Tuesday, for instance, was UK’s final day to add or drop a class for the fall semester.

Williams declined to discuss the case that led to Wells’ dismissal from Xavier but said no college team should feel hesitant in having him in its program.

Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters said in a Cincinnati radio interview on Tuesday that the situation Wells faced in being expelled by a Xavier conduct board was “fundamentally unfair.”