Education
He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he earned renown for his talents and for the Fighting Illini"s success during war-interrupted, non-consecutive seasons, 1941–1943 and 1946–1947.
baseball player coach officer basketball player
He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he earned renown for his talents and for the Fighting Illini"s success during war-interrupted, non-consecutive seasons, 1941–1943 and 1946–1947.
Born in Granite City, Illinois, Andy Phillip played for the Chicago Stags of the Basketball Association of America and the Philadelphia Warriors, Fort Wayne Pistons and Boston Celtics, all of the National Basketball Association. Phillip led his high school, Granite City, to the Illinois state championship in 1940. Phillip served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in World World War II at Iwo Jima.
Phillip played in the first five National Basketball Association All-Star Games, and was twice named to the All-National Basketball Association Second Team.
He was the first player to record 500 assists in a season, and led the National Basketball Association in assists during the 1950-1951 and 1950-1952 seasons. Phillip"s teams made it to the National Basketball Association Finals during his final four seasons — twice with Fort Wayne and twice with Boston.
Phillip was alleged by one of his Fort Wayne Pistons teammates, George Yardley, to have conspired with gamblers to throw the 1955 National Basketball Association Finals to the Syracuse Nationals. He coached the Saint Louis Hawks for 10 games in 1958, posting a 6-4 record.
Phillip later coached the Chicago Majors of the American Basketball League.
Phillip was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1961. He was elected to the Illini Men"s Basketball All-Century Team in January 2005. In 2007, Phillip was voted one of the "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament," recognizing his superior performance in his appearance in the tournament.
Phillip died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California on April 29, 2001.
He was 79 years old. Sports writer Dan Manoyan writes about Phillip and his Granite City High School basketball teammates in Men of Granite. Hollywood Producer Valerie McCaffrey is planning a film based on this non-fiction work.
She plans to begin filming in Spring 2012 with Granite City, Illinois as the chosen filming location.
He was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity.