Sources have informed WLEX 18 in Lexington that former UK center Mike Phillips, 59, has died.
A source tells LEX 18 that Phillips died from a fall in his home in Madisonville, Kentucky on Saturday. Details of the accident are not known at this time.
The 6'10” center, who was Mr. Basketball in Ohio in 1973 and 1974, was a big key in UK winning the NCAA Championship in 1978. An all-SEC player, Mike avereged 11 points and 6 rebounds during his UK career.
Following graduation, Phillips was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in the 1978 NBA Draft, but never played in the NBA. 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.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.
On This Day In UK Basketball History
- On March 19, 1966, Pat Riley joined the 1,000-point club. He did it in 54 games.
- On March 19, 1966, in one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, top-ranked UK, featuring “Rupp’s Runts,” loses in the NCAA Championship game, 72-65, to Texas Western.
- On March 19, 1989, in the wake of an NCAA investigation, Eddie Sutton resigns as UK basketball coach.