Philip Champion

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Philip Champion (born June 14, 1976 in Jacksonville, Florida) also known as Hot Sauce, is an American basketball player who has played on the Streetball AND 1 Mixtape Tour from its creation in 2000. Champion is six-foot-one and weighs 160 pounds and is widely regarded^[who?] as the most famous streetball player ....

[edit] Biography

Originally from Jacksonville, Champion spent the majority of his youth in Columbus, Georgia. After high school he found himself in Atlanta. He found life at Run N’ Shoot, spending long hours in pick-up games and solitary practices, developing his ball-handling skills.

Champion and his (now ex-) manager Mark Edwards met at Run N’ Shoot early in 1999 and the two formed a friendship. Then, a few years ago, Champion violated the terms of his probation and, because he could not pay the $752 fine issued by the judge, found himself in jail. In the meantime Edwards, who had begun aggressively promoting Champion’s game, was contacted by AND 1, which wanted to arrange for Champion to participate in some of the organized games they were holding on outdoor courts. Edwards went back to Run N’ Shoot, unaware that Champion had been incarcerated. After learning of Champion's predicament through a mutual friend, Edwards, an attorney, arranged to pay his fine and was headed to Los Angeles, CA and the AND 1 game. Champion joined the AND 1 team in the summer of 2000. In 2008 AND1 did not renew Champions contract and his time with AND1 was officially over.