55 Mike Phillips

Mike Phillips was born on March 24, 1956, in Manchester, Ohio, to Katherine Timko Phillips and Mike Phillips.

A dominant 6-10 center, Phillips attended Manchester High School in New Franklin, Ohio, where he led his team to the Ohio state AA basketball title in 1974 with an impressive 26-0 record. He scored 38 points in the state title game, capping a career that saw Manchester post an 82-11 overall record during his four years on the varsity team.  His high school career was marked by scoring 2,573 points, ranking him seventh in Ohio high school history.  He was a two-time Mr. Basketball in Ohio (1973 and 1974).

Phillips played college basketball for Kentucky from 1974 to 1978 under coach Joe B. Hall. He was a key player in helping Kentucky win the national championship in 1978. Teaming up with Rick Robey, they formed the formidable “Twin Towers” duo. In helping Kentucky win its first national championship in 20 years, Phillips and Robey each averaged double-digit points: Robey 14.4 and Phillips 10.2.  Phillips earned All-SEC honors in his sophomore, junior, and senior years, finishing his college career with 1,367 points, ranked 25th on UK’s career scoring list, and 755 rebounds.  During his career at UK, he averaged 11.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Phillips made an impact as a freshman (7.8 points per game). He scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds in Kentucky’s noted 92-90 victory over unbeaten Indiana in the 1975 NCAA Tournament.

He doubled his freshman scoring average of 7.8 points per game to 15.6 as a sophomore and showed he had an effective face-up game to go with his low-post prowess and ability to float in hook shots with either hand. In a particularly memorable contest with rival Tennessee, he produced 35 points and 28 rebounds with Robey out of the lineup due to injury.

Phillips’ played a role in another famous NCAA Tournament game. The run to the 1978 national championship almost ended in the first round. Hall’s benching of four starters shook the Cats from their lethargy and on to a 85-76 victory over Florida State.  “He was the one I didn’t bench,” Hall said of Phillips, who had 14 points, a team-high six rebounds and two steals (which tied for the team high) in the game.

For Kentucky fans, Phillips and his 1978 teammates made an indelible mark by winning the program’s first post-Adolph Rupp championship.

After college, Phillips was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in the 1978 NBA draft but never played in the NBA. Instead, he found success in Spain, playing professionally for eleven years. He played six years in Spain’s top-tier league, the Liga ACB, and won an ACB league championship with FC Barcelona in 1981. Throughout his ACB career, Phillips scored 4,423 points and grabbed 1,765 rebounds.

In 1994, Phillips was inducted into the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame.

In 2003, he was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.

Tragically, Mike Phillips passed away on April 25, 2015, after a fall at his home in Madisonville, Kentucky. He was remembered as a gentle giant and a courageous player who left a lasting impact on the basketball community.