New Adelaide 36ers coach Mike Wells has been spotted giving his players a ferocious spray ahead of their NBL season-opener on Sunday.
Wells has only been in the job for a month, but hasn’t been afraid to let his feelings known.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Mike Wells launches explosive outburst at training.
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He can be seen and heard yelling expletives in an extraordinary tirade.
The American even throws his clipboard to the ground in frustration.
Speaking after the session, Wells was quick to downplay the incident when asked if there was tension.
“Absolutely not. What you’re trying to do is you’re trying to sharpen iron, you’re trying to compete, try to get guys to compete at the highest level and then be able to get emotional and then be able to reel it back in,” he said.
“Always been a process, us learning to play together, we’re all at different levels and stages of our professional career. What we want to do is come together as a group.
“The group as a whole has been extremely coachable, they’ve been open to me, they’ve been open to ideas. I think it’s been a really good blend of the veterans and some of our new players, our imports … everybody trying to get on the same page, moving together.
“Ultimately, the goal is to win. We understand the pressure with the job. How do we get there? I don’t know if there’s a right path, but as we ramp it up in practice, we want to get right to the line.”
The 36ers begin the new season on Sunday against the Kings.
The latest incident continues a tumultuous off-season that saw former coach Scott Ninnis sacked two weeks into the first pre-season of his new contract.
Wells, who was assistant to Ninnis, assumed the top position when Ninnis was abruptly let go.
The news came as a shock to the playing group and Ninnis, who only signed his two-year deal in February following a solid stint as interim coach.
Sixers chief executive Nic Barbato and general manager of basketball operations Matt Weston last month explaiedn the decision, claiming Ninnis’ short reign had been a “constant challenge”.
“In those six months, we wanted to give every chance to succeed and it became clear to us that those standards weren’t being met on a consistent basis,” Barbato said.
“As an organisation we wanted to give every ability for Scott to improve, to learn to adapt and that didn’t happen in our view.
“There’s been challenges pretty much from day one of the six months. If we’re honest with each other, there’s been a constant challenge.
“We’ve decided it’s better to make this call early. In the past we haven’t done that, we’ve let that go when we have had doubts. We’ve made the call early to give ourselves the best chance to succeed this season.”
Sixers management hired Wells as an assistant to Ninnis ahead of the current season and denied the ex-coach had felt undermined by that decision.
“I wouldn’t think so,” Weston said.
“He was a good resource to bring in to help Scott and I just don’t think that’s been activated the way I’d like.”
Originally coach between 2008 and 2010, Ninnis won eight of 15 games after taking over from embattled former boss CJ Bruton midway through last season.
The Sixers ultimately missed finals by one win and percentage, marking their sixth consecutive campaign without a post-season appearance.
Adelaide has burned through four different coaches in that time: Joey Wright, Conner Henry, Burton and now Ninnis.
As a player, Ninnis guided the 36ers to NBL titles during the 1986 and 1998 seasons, also playing for South East Melbourne Magic in their first title win in 1992.
Adelaide have signed former NBA big man Jarell Martin for the upcoming season, with Cairns Taipans forward Lat Mayen another key acquisition.
– With AAP