Mike Phillips (basketball)

Mike Phillips

Phillips at an autograph signing in 2013
Personal information
Born March 24, 1956
Akron, Ohio
Died April 25, 2015 (aged 59)
Madisonville, Kentucky
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight 235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school Manchester (New Franklin, Ohio)
College Kentucky (1974–1978)
NBA draft 1978 / Round: 3 / Pick: 45th overall
Selected by the New Jersey Nets
Pro career 1979–1990
Position Center
Career history
1979–1980 CB Mollet
1980–1982 FC Barcelona
1982–1985 CB Santa Coloma
1985–1987 RCD Español
1987–1988 Fórum Valladolid
1988–1989 Cacaolat Granollers
1989–1990 CB Juver Murcia
Career highlights and awards

Michael Charles Phillips (March 24, 1956 – April 25, 2015) was an retired American basketball player. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was an all-conference performer in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and helped Kentucky win a national championship in 1978. Phillips played professionally for eleven years in Spain, including six years with Liga ACB.

Mike Phillips, a 6-foot-10-inch (2.08 m) center from Manchester High School in New Franklin, Ohio, played collegiately at the University of Kentucky for coach Joe B. Hall. He teamed with 6-foot-11-inch (2.11 m) Rick Robey to form a duo known as the Twin Towers.[1] Phillips played four years for the Wildcats, earning All-SEC honors in his sophomore (second team), junior (second team) and senior years (third team).[2] In his senior season, Phillips averaged more than 10 points per game on the Wildcats' 1978 national championship team.[1] For his career, Phillips finished 25th on the school's career scoring list with 1,367 points (11.4 per game), and he also grabbed 755 rebounds (6.3 per game).[1][2]

Following graduation, Phillips was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in the 1978 NBA Draft, but never played in the NBA.[1] In 1979, he found his way to Spain where he had a fruitful career. Phillips played six years in Spain's top league (Liga ACB), winning a league championship in 1981 with FC Barcelona Bàsquet. For his ACB career, Phillips scored 4,423 points (23.2 per game) and grabbed 1,765 rebounds (9.2 per game) in his six seasons.[3]

Phillips died after falling down a flight of stairs at his Madisonville, Kentucky, home on April 25, 2015.[4] The 59-year-old Phillips was home alone, and the Hopkins County coroner's investigation found no evidence of criminality in the event.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Mike Phillips, Half of Kentucky’s ‘Twin Towers’ of Basketball, Dies at 59". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 28, 2015. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2010-11 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball media guide, accessed September 22, 2011
  3. ↑ 2009-10 Liga ACB Annual, accessed September 22, 2011
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Coroner rules out foul play in Mike Phillips' death". Lexington Herald-Leader. April 27, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.