Derrick Michael Phelps (born July 31, 1972) is an American former 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, who is currently an assistant coach for the LIU Sharks. At 6'4" and 181 lbs., he played as a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

High school

Phelps attended Christ The King Regional High School, in Middle Village, Queens, New York. He was named to the 1990 McDonald's All-American Team. After, he played in the McDonald's All-American game with future UNC teammates Eric Montross, Brian Reese, and Clifford Rozier.

College career

Phelps rose to prominence while playing

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for coach Dean Smith at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

, with the Tar Heels. He was named as an All-Atlantic Coast Conference Honorable Mention in 1993, and was named to the 2nd Team in 1994. Phelps was a member of North Carolina's 1993 NCAA National Championship team, as the Tar Heels defeated

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, by a score of 77–71, in the title game. Graduating in 1994, Phelps left college holding two Tar Heel records: most steals in one game (9), and most steals in a career (247). He was also the only player in ACC history with 600 assists, 400 rebounds, and 200 steals.

Professional playing career

Phelps was not drafted by an NBA team. He was the sixth overall pick of the 1994

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) draft, by the Chicago Rockers. Phelps was selected to the CBA All-Rookie Team in 1995. He did play in three NBA games with the Sacramento Kings in the 1994–95 season. The

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. The Grizzlies competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Midwest Division (NBA), Midwest Division of the Western Conference ( ...

selected him in the 1995 NBA

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

, but he did not play for them before they renounced his NBA rights in 1996. He also spent some time during the NBA preseason (but not in any regular season contests) with the Milwaukee Bucks (1994), and Philadelphia 76ers (1997). In 1996, Phelps signed with the German team TTL uniVersa Bamberg, before playing for the CBA's Rockford Lightning. From 2000 to 2002, he played with the German club

ALBA Berlin Alba Berlin is a professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Uber Arena and c ...

, with former UNC teammate Henrik Rödl (having already played with the German club Telekom Baskets Bonn in 1998–2000). He then played in France with CSP Limoges, then returned to Germany, and had a brief stint in 2004, with Śląsk Wrocław in the Polish League. Phelps also played in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, in Germany with GHP Bamberg, and in the Russian Super League with Spartak Primorie Vladivostok. In the 2009–10 season, he played with Gaz Metan Medias in the Romanian League.

Coaching career

In October 2010, Phelps was named the video coordinator for

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

's men's basketball team. In 2011, he joined the Monmouth University staff as an assistant coach. Prior to the start of the 2014 season, he accepted a position as an assistant coach at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. Phelps later left Columbia to become an associate

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

for three seasons, before following Kyle Smith to Washington State after the 2018–19 season, at which he was again an assistant coach. He stepped down from the position in June 2022. Six months later, Phelps returned to Monmouth and became a special assistant to the head coach. Phelps held this position for six months before joining the Marist coaching staff as an assistant coach.

References

External links

Monmouth ProfileWashington State ProfileSan Francisco ProfileColumbia Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Derrick 1972 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen Alba Berlin players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Romania American expatriate basketball people in Russia American men's basketball players Bamberg Baskets players Basketball players from Queens, New York BC Spartak Primorye players Chicago Rockers players Columbia Lions men's basketball coaches Heroes Den Bosch players La Crosse Bobcats players Limoges CSP players Marist Red Foxes men's basketball coaches McDonald's High School All-Americans Monmouth Hawks men's basketball coaches North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Point guards Riesen Ludwigsburg players Sacramento Kings players San Francisco Dons men's basketball coaches Śląsk Wrocław basketball players Telekom Baskets Bonn players Undrafted NBA players Vancouver Grizzlies expansion draft picks Washington State Cougars men's basketball coaches