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Baton
Rouge, La- Shock, grief and dismay--just some of the descriptive words
portraying a saddened and somber mood at Southern University upon
discovering facts of the untimely death of one of the Jaguar nation's
most beloved family members.
At the tender age of 30, one of the more lauded members of the Southern
University family was relieved of his duties on earth to answer the
bells of a higher calling. Former Southern University basketball great
Bobby Phills departed this life on Wednesday, January 12, following a
fatal two-car accident in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"In the loss of Bobby Phills we have truly lost a great person, a
great father, a great husband and a great mentor," lamented
Southern University head basketball coach Tommy Green, a mentor of
Phills's as the assistant coach during the star athlete's collegiate
basketball career at Southern.
"When people talk about Bobby (Phills) most of the discussion will
surround his prowess on the basketball court," Green continued,
"but to know him personally is to know a true class act."
Bobby Phills began his collegiate career as Southern in the summer of
1987 in search of a Bachelor of Science degree in pre-veterinary
medicine, his chosen field of study. However, along the way an
overwhelmingly gifted basketball athlete was discovered in Phills with
life's journey leading him down a different path to success.
A remarkable student-athlete excelling on the court as well as in the
classroom, Phills proved to be extremely durable as a swingman in
Southern's noted up-tempo, "run and gun" style of play.
In four seasons at Southern (1987-90), Phills would establish himself as
the school's most prolific three-point shooter ever, continuing this day
to own single-season records at the school for most three-point field
goals made (120 in 1991) and most three-point field goals made per game
(4.39, also in '91), in one season.
A product of Southern University Laboratory High School, where he earned
two letters in both track and field and basketball, Phills established
himself, early in life, as not only a capable athlete but a standout
student in the classroom as well.
Phills's senior season at Southern Lab (1987) saw him average 26 points
and 13 rebounds per contest under then head coach Hugh Wallace, as the
captain of a team that claimed the state championship that year.
Along the way, Phills busied himself in gathering numerous post-season
honors including being selected to the Louisiana All-State team, being
touted the district I-A most valuable player and garnering academic
All-America honors.
With talents undoubtedly above and beyond many in his peer group, Phills
was vigorously sought after by school including South Alabama, South
Florida, McNeese State and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
(formerly USL); but Phills would eventually settle on homestanding
Southern University, listing reasons of being able to play at a nearby,
predominantly black institution where his parents could see him play.
His astounding accomplishments as a versatile, yet durable swingman on
the Southern University basketball team did very little in truly
profiling the respected, well-rounded, highly regarded man Phills came
to be.
A three-year starter at Southern, Phills consistently scorched opposing
defenses, forging a collegiate basketball career that would eventually
land him in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
In his senior season at Southern, Phills posted numbers comparable to
one of the greatest, single-season efforts ever to be attained in Jaguar
Land.
Phills's 28.6 ppg, ranked fourth in the country, his 3.2 steals
per outing was best in the conference and his 4.39 three-point
field goals made per game made him the nation's leader in that category.
A marksman possessing uncanny range and showmanship, Phills was one of
only eight players in the nation selected to participate in the
three-point shootout on Final Four weekend in Indiana, following his
senior campaign at Southern.
Notwithstanding all the many on-the-court achievements, Bobby Phills,
adored by his community both home and abroad, became a man whose
off-the-court presence began to superseded his successes on the court.
Never one to forget the foundation of his roots, Phills sought to give
back to native town of Baton Rouge by founding the Hook A Kid on Golf
program-- an annual charity golf event which provided 25 inner-city
youth, ranging in age 8 to 12, the opportunity to receive a guided
introduction to the game of golf.
In addition, Phills's philanthropic ventures became the gateway to the
Bobby Phills Foundation and Club 14, both charity organizations founded
by Phills aimed at assisting America's youth in the betterment of
themselves.
"Bobby Phills epitomized professionalism," stated Roman Banks,
assistant men's basketball coach at Southern and friend to the Phills
family. "He was always willing to lend a helping hand in any
situation, no matter the cause. His loss is a huge loss for
everyone, both near and far."
As a student-athlete at Southern, Phills's intellect and early
maturation was evident not only to those who knew his inner being, but
to the family he cultivated during his tenure on the Bluff.
Ben Jobe, Phill's head coach while at Southern and current head
basketball coach at Tuskegee, listed Phill's greatest three attributes
as being smart, exciting, and ready. Jobe went on to characterize Phills
as being an individual who "makes the classroom his first priority,
while prioritizing basketball as second."
Though idolizing the remarkable talents of Michael Jordan while honoring
his own basketball abilities at Southern, Phills stated his favorite
professional athlete as being the "tremendous point guard with
remarkable scoring ability" whose attributes were personified in
Kevin Johnson, according to Phills.
"Phills will be sorely missed by many who knew him," said
Green. "Those who never got the chance to know him are certainly at
a misfortune, for Bobby (Phills) was truly one of the better persons of
our time."
Those sentiments hold true for each and every one comprising the Jaguar
Nation.
2-PT
3-PT
Year
G-GS FG-FGA FG% FG-FGA FG%
FT-FTA FT% PTS AVG
AST AVG MIN
87-88 23-0
26-53
49.1
3-7 42.9
30-42 71.4
85 3.7
8 0.3 158
88-89 31-26 166-385
43.1 44-128
34.4 44-60 73.3
420 13.5 55
1.8 923
89-90 31-31 232-574 45.1
112-300 37.3 46-70
65.7 622 20.1
89 2.9 937
90-91 27-27 252-618 40.8
120-343 35.0 147-203 72.4
771 28.6 50
1.9 946
TOT: 113-85 684-1653
41 282-788
36 272-383
71 1922 17.0
204 1.8 3004
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| | Tuesday, January 18
Police say speeds exceeded 100 mph
|
| | Associated Press
|
| | CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bobby Phills and David Wesley were both racing at a speeds more than 100 mph when Phills lost control of
his Porsche in the accident that killed him, according to a
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report.
|  | | The length of the skids marks were used to calculate speeds. |
Phills, driving at 107 mph, was behind Wesley, at 110 mph, when
he lost control and collided with an Oldsmobile on Jan. 12, the
report released Monday says. Last week, police estimated the two
Charlotte Hornets players were racing at speeds more than 75 mph in
the 45 mph zone.
The report says both Phills and Wesley were driving "in an
erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner," and
that the two men were "involved in a speed competition" before
the collision. It also says Phills had crossed into the oncoming
lane of traffic.
The speeds are estimates calculated using the length of tire
marks, the amount of damage to the cars and other factors measured
by investigators, police said.
The report is just one element of an investigation that will be
presented to the Mecklenburg District Attorney's office late this
week or early next week. Prosecutors will decide what charges, if
any, to file.
Wesley, who was driving with a suspended license at the time of
the wreck, has declined to comment.
Just hours before the report was completed, Rob Woolard, the
driver of the Oldsmobile, spoke publicly for the first time since
the wreck near Charlotte Coliseum.
He said it is not important to him if Wesley is criminally
charged.
"He (Wesley) didn't know that was going to happen," Woolard
said.
Woolard is on crutches, and much of his body is bruised. Both of
his knees are hurt, and one may require surgical repair and
physical therapy.
Playing their first home game since co-captain Phills' death,
the Hornets defeated the Toronto Raptors 115-94 Monday night.
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