Four years ago, DeJuan Wheat took his place next to Wiley Brown on the IU Southeast bench for his first game as a college basketball coach. The Grenadiers beat Simmons College, 94-64.
On Wednesday, Wheat took the next step of his coaching journey — back across the Ohio River. The 51-year-old Louisville native, who starred at U of L and spent more than a decade playing professionally, is coming home to lead the Falcons.
Wheat is replacing coach Tony Branch, who was a captain of the Cardinals’ 1980 national championship team and is a member of the Louisville Athletics Hall of Fame. Simmons, a Division II program, went 6-22 in 2024-25 and 8-16 in 2023-24.
A Ballard High School graduate, Wheat played at Louisville from 1993-97 and left receiving All-American consideration as a senior. His 2,183 career points and 323 made 3s are second to Darrell Griffith and Taquan Dean, respectively, for the most in program history. He also holds the title of being the first player in NCAA history to record at least 2,000 points, 450 assists, 300 made 3s and 200 steals.
The Los Angeles Lakers selected Wheat in the second round of the 1997 NBA Draft but later cut him. He totaled 80 appearances at the sport’s highest level, 34 with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1997-98 and 46 with the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1998-99, and retired in 2010 — after playing five seasons south of the border for Soles de Mexicali.
Upon returning to Louisville, Wheat started his own sports training program and, in 2016, was named the boys basketball coach at Valley High School. He held the position until Brown, who played at U of L from 1978-82, came calling about an assistant position at IU Southeast in 2021.
The Grenadiers, an NAIA program, went a combined 65-58 during Wheat’s time on Brown’s staff.
This story will be updated.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.
