Andrew Michael "Handy Andy" Phillip (March 7, 1922 – April 29, 2001) was an American professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player.
[Andy Phillip Stats]
Basketball Reference. Accessed on June 9, 2017. Born in
Granite City, Illinois
Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, within the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. The population was 27,549 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Metro East and S ...
, Phillip had an 11-year career and played for the
Chicago Stags of the
Basketball Association of America
The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball Lea ...
and the
Philadelphia Warriors,
Fort Wayne Pistons and
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
, of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA).
High school/College
Phillip led his high school in Granite City, Illinois, to the
IHSA state championship in 1940 by defeating
Herrin High School with a final score of 24–22 at
Huff Gym on the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign campus. It would be that same gymnasium where he earned renown for his talents and for the
Fighting Illini's success during war-interrupted, non-consecutive seasons in 1941–1943 and 1946–1947. Phillip was the untitled leader of ''"
The Whiz Kids"'', a team that included
Ken Menke,
Gene Vance,
Jack Smiley and team captain
Art Mathisen. Arguably the most talented basketball team in the nation, Phillip and his teammates would elect not to participate in either the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
or
NIT tournament based on the army's draft of Mathisen, Menke and Smiley. The team was retroactively named the national champion by the
Premo-Porretta Power Poll
The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons.
The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...
. Four of the five, minus Mathisen, returned to Illinois and tried to recapture the glory for one more season in
1946–47 after the war ended, but the chemistry had changed as well as their talent. Illinois went 14–6.
While attending Illinois, Phillip was a member of
Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Phillip served as a
first lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...
in the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
in World War II at
Iwo Jima
is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...
.
Professional basketball
Phillip played in the first five
NBA All-Star Game
The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...
s, and was twice named to the
All-NBA Second Team. He was the first player to record 500 assists in a season, the first to reach the 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000 career assists milestones, and
led the NBA in assists during the
1950–51 and
1951–52 seasons. Phillip reached the postseason every year he was in the league,
and his teams made it to the NBA Finals during his final four seasons — twice with Fort Wayne and twice with Boston. The
1957 Boston team won the
NBA Championship.
Phillip was alleged by one of his
Fort Wayne Pistons teammates,
George Yardley, to have conspired with gamblers to throw the
1955 NBA Finals to the
Syracuse Nationals. In the decisive seventh game, Phillip turned the ball over with three seconds remaining in the game, enabling Syracuse to win by one point, 92–91.
After retiring from playing basketball, he coached the
St. Louis Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...
for 10 games in 1958, posting a 6–4 record before he was fired. Phillip later coached the
Chicago Majors of the
American Basketball League.
Phillip was elected to the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
in 1961. He was elected to the
Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team in 2004. 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, aged 79.
Sports writer Dan Manoyan wrote a book about Phillip and his Granite City High School basketball teammates, titled ''Men of Granite'', in 2007. A film based on the book, directed by Dwayne Johnson-Cochran, began production in 2015.
Honors
Basketball
* 1942, 1943, 1947 – First-team All-
Big Ten
*
1942
The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...
&
1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 � ...
First Team
All-American
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
* 1943 –
National Player of the Year
* 1943 –
Sporting News
''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...
National Player of the Year
* 1961 – Inducted into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
* 1973 – Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame as a player.
* 2004 – Elected to the "
Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team".
* 2006 – Inducted into the
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
* 2007 – Named one of the
100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament.
* September 13, 2008 – Honored as one of the 34
honored jerseys which hang in the
State Farm Center
The State Farm Center is a large dome-shaped 15,544-seat indoor arena located in Champaign, Illinois, owned and operated by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The arena hosts games for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball, ...
to show regard for being the most decorated basketball players in the University of Illinois' history.
Baseball
* 1947 –
Baseball All-American (
First baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
)
Athletics
* 1942, 1943 –
University of Illinois Athlete of the Year
* 2017 – Inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame
Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame
/ref>
Statistics
Basketball
BAA/NBA career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
Head coaching record
, -
, style="text-align:left;", St. Louis
, style="text-align:left;", 1958–59
, 10, , 6, , 4, , , , style="text-align:center;", (fired), , , —, , —, , —, , —
, style="text-align:center;", —
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:left;", Total
, , , 10, , 6, , 4, , , , , , —, , —, , —, , —, ,
References
External links
*
BasketballReference.com: Andy Phillip (as player)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillip, Andy
1922 births
2001 deaths
All-American college baseball players
All-American college men's basketball players
Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players
American Basketball League (1961–62) coaches
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Illinois
Basketball players from Illinois
Battle of Iwo Jima
Boston Celtics players
Chicago Stags draft picks
Chicago Stags players
Fort Wayne Pistons players
Illinois Fighting Illini baseball players
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
NBA All-Stars
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Granite City, Illinois
Philadelphia Warriors players
Point guards
Shooting guards
St. Louis Hawks head coaches
United States Marine Corps officers
United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
Military personnel from Illinois