Rashad Keith Phillips(born May 5, 1978) is an American former professionalbasketballplayer. At a height of 5'91⁄4"(1.76 m) tall, and a weight of 170 pounds (77 kg),[1]he played at the guard position.[2]
 Phillips in 2018 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 5, 1978 Detroit, Michigan |
| Listed height | 5 ft 9.25 in (1.76 m) |
| Listed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Ferndale(Ferndale, Michigan) |
| College | Detroit Mercy(1997–2001) |
| NBA draft | 2001:undrafted |
| Playing career | 2001–2010 |
| Position | Point guard/shooting guard |
| Career history | |
| 2001–2002 | Mobile Revelers |
| 2002 | Aironi Novara |
| 2002–2004 | ALM Évreux Basket |
| 2004–2005 | Tekelspor |
| 2005–2006 | Makedonikos |
| 2006 | Dakota Wizards |
| 2006 | İstanbulspor |
| 2007 | Porto |
| 2007 | SK Valmiera |
| 2007 | Perth Wildcats |
| 2008–2009 | Al Ansar |
| 2010 | Gießen 46ers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life
editPhillips, a native of the North Central section ofDetroit, Michigan,grew up in a rough neighborhood.[3]
In the fall of 1992, Phillips enteredFerndale High School,inFerndale, Michigan,as a 4 ft 8 in (1.42 m)freshman.[4]At first, he was told he was too small to be a basketball player, but he quickly proved he could play, despite his stature, and ended up becoming one of the first four-year varsity starters in school history.[4]By the time Phillips was a senior, in 1995–96, he had only grown to 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m).[5]Phillips, however, still averaged approximately 25 points, seven assists and four steals per game, en route to being namedOakland County's best player.[5]
College career
editPhillips stood at 5'8 "(1.73 m) when he enteredUniversity of Detroit Mercy.[4]He averaged 10.0 points per game in his first season, and was named theMidwestern Collegiate Conference's (MCC) Newcomer of the Year.[6][7]The Titans were conference regular season champions, behind a 12–2 MCC record, and earned a berth into the1998 NCAA tournament.[8]After upsettingSt. John'sin the first round, Detroit lost in the round of 32, to a strongPurduesquad, ending their year with an overall record of 25–6.[8]
During hissophomoreseason, in1998–99,he increased his average to 15.7 points per game, which would be the first of three consecutive years in which he led Detroit in that category.[8]The Titans repeated as regular season champions, and also won theMCC tournament,which gave them an automatic berth into the1999 NCAA tournament.[8]Phillips played a big role in 12th-seeded Detroit's upset over 5th-seededUCLA,by a score of 56–53, during the opening round game.[3][8]Just like the season before, when they scored a major upset to open the tournament, Detroit then found itself on the losing end in the round of 32, this time at the hands of 4th-seededOhio State.At the end of the 25–6 season, Phillips was named to the All-MCC First Team.[7]
As ajunior,in1999–2000,the Titans failed to qualify for any postseason tournaments, since they only finished with a 20–12 (8–6 MCC) record.[8]Phillips' scoring average, meanwhile, rose to a career-best 23.0 points per game, while he also finished in the top 10 in the nation.[7]His average led the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, while his 735 total points scored is still the fourth-highest single season mark in school history.[7][9]He repeated as both an All-MCC First Team selection, as well as an All-Defensive Team selection.[7]Phillips was named theMCC Men's Basketball Player of the Year,becoming the first Detroit Titan ever to be honored as the league's Newcomer of the YearandPlayer of the Year during his career.[7]
In2000–01,the Titans finished in second place in the MCC, behindButler,with a 10–4 record.[8]Phillips averaged 22.4 points per game, tops in the MCC, while leading the school to a fourth-place finish in the2001 National Invitation Tournament– their highest-ever finish in a major postseason tournament.[8]After losing toAlabamain the semifinals, Detroit then playedMemphisfor the NIT Third Place game, but also fell short in that game, placing fourth. On the year, Phillips set still-standing single season school-records of 785 total points scored, and a 91.6% accuracy from thefree throwline.[7]Additionally, he finished with the fourth-highest free throw percentage in all ofNCAADivision I.Phillips also set many school top ten records that season, including a career-high of 41 points scored againstUW–Green Bay,in January.[7]The Midwestern Collegiate Conference honored him with a third consecutive All-MCC First Team selection, as well as his second straight MCC Player of the Year award.[7]He became just the third player ever to lead the conference in scoring multiple times,[4]and he ended his collegiate career with 2,319 points scored,[9]which stood as the Detroit Mercy record for over 20 years untilAntoine Davisbroke it in 2022.[10]His 541 made free throws still top the program's record book,[9]and his 348 madethree-pointerswere also a program record until Davis surpassed him in 2021.[11]
Phillips garnered national acclaim for his season and career, not just conference awards. TheAssociated Pressnamed him as an Honorable MentionAll-American,and theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famepresented him as the 2001Frances Pomeroy Naismith Awardwinner, given annually to the best Division I men's basketball player, who is 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) or shorter.[6][9]
Professional career
editPhillips was chosen to play in thePortsmouth Invitational Tournament(PIT), after the school year ended.[4]The PIT is composed of the top 64 recently graduated basketball players in the country, and is an opportunity for them to showcase their talent, heading into theNational Basketball Association(NBA)Draft.At the 49th installment of the tournament, Phillips earned MVP honors, after averaging 21.3 points and 5.3 assists per game, in three games played.[4]
TheMobile Revelers,of theNBA Development League,selected Phillips in the first round (7th overall), in the2001 NBDL Draft.[12]He played the entire first season in NBDL history with the Revelers, while appearing in 53 total games (including 27 starts).[2]He averaged 12.5 points and 3.7 assists per game, as Mobile finished with a 30–26 record, good for fourth place in the eight team league.[13]The Revelers lost in the playoffs, two games to one, in a best-of-three format, to theNorth Charleston Lowgators.[13]
For the next seven years, Phillips became somewhat of ajourneyman.He played in over eight leagues, both domestically and internationally, and rarely stayed with one team for more than a season. His stops included leagues in Australia, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Three different times he was his league's scoring champion, and once was its MVP.[4]He retired from playing professional basketball in 2010 after a stint with theGießen 46ers.
References
edit- ^Rashad Phillips Altezza: Peso: 176 cm 77 kg(in Italian).
- ^ab"Rashad Phillips D-League Stats".basketball-reference.com.Sports Reference LLC.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.
- ^abSchecter, B. J. (January 31, 2000)."A Titan, Even At 5'10".Sports Illustrated.Archived fromthe originalon January 19, 2013.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.
- ^abcdefg"About Rashad Phillips".Rashad Phillips Skills Unlimited.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.
- ^abFracassa, Hawke (November 22, 2010)."'No. 3' Is in The Rafters: U-D Mercy Honored Star Point Guard, Ferndale Grad Rashad Phillips, Friday Night ".patch.com.Ferndale Patch.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.
- ^ab"Ferndale Graduate Rashad Phillips to have Basketball Number Retired by U-D Mercy".Daily Tribune.November 3, 2010.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.
- ^abcdefghi"2010–11 Detroit Titan's Men's Basketball Media Guide".DetroitTitans.com.University of Detroit Mercy. 2012.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.
- ^abcdefghESPN Editors (2009).ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game.New York, NY:Random House, Inc.pp.152–153.ISBN978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^abcd"Wizards Sign Guard Rashad Phillips".Continental Basketball Association news.Our Sports Central. February 20, 2006.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.
- ^"Detroit 85, UWM 60: Antoine Davis puts on a one-man show, scores 39 to torch the Panthers".Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. January 7, 2022.RetrievedJanuary 8,2022.
- ^"Antoine Davis breaks Detroit Mercy and Horizon League three-point record".WXYZ Detroit. December 5, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 8,2022.
- ^"National Basketball Development League Announces Inaugural Draft Results".NBDL Enterprises, LLC. NBA. November 1, 2001. Archived fromthe originalon January 7, 2011.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.
- ^ab"2001–02 Mobile Revelers Statistics".basketball-reference.com.Sports Reference LLC.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.