Wells attended Muncie Central High School and then went on to play at Ball State University, also in Muncie. There he was named the Mid-American Conference Freshman Player of the Year in the 1994–95 season, while helping the Cardinals to the NCAA Tournament. Wells broke Ron Harper's conference record of 2,377 career points on a one-handed dunk against Northern Illinois on February 21, 1998. The dunk sent the sell-out crowd at University Arena into a frenzy. A timeout was immediately called and Wells was awarded the game ball by Ball State president John Worthen. Wells also led the Mid-American Conference in steals in 1998 with 73, averaging 3.55 steals in 29 games. Wells led the conference in steals during all four years at Ball State and finished his career as the Mid-American Conference all-time career records in points (2,485) and steals (347). While at Ball State he averaged 21.4 PPG, 3 SPG, and 7.3 RPG. He was selected eleventh overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 1998 NBA draft, but he never played for the Pistons as his draft rights were traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for the Blazers' 1999 first round pick. Six years later Ball State would retire his jersey number, 42, in recognition of his achievements.