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FAREWELL BOBBY PHILLS OUR SON

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
 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.

Bobby Phills
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.