Michael Charles Phillips (born March 24, 1956) is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player. He played eleven years in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, including six years with Liga ACB.

Mike Phillips, a 6'10 center from Manchester High School in New Franklin, Ohio

New Franklin, Ohio

New Franklin is a city located at the southern edge of Summit County, Ohio, United States, in the northeastern part of the state. It is bounded by Coventry Township, as well as the cities of Barberton and Norton to the north; by Chippewa Township, Wayne County; by Clinton to the southwest; by Green...

, played collegiately at the University of Kentucky

Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball

The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, representing the University of Kentucky, is the winningest in the history of college basketball, both in all-time wins and all-time winning percentage. Kentucky's all-time record currently stands at 2058–647...

 for coach Joe B. Hall

Joe B. Hall

-See also:*Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball*NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coaches- External links :* at unofficial Fan Site* * *...

. Phillips played four years for the Wildcats, earning All-Southeastern Conference

Southeastern Conference

The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...

 honors in his sophomore (second team), junior (second team) and senior years (third team). In his senior season, Phillips played on the Wildcats' 1978 national championship team

1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1977–78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team were coached by Joe B. Hall. The team finished the season with a 30–2 record and won the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship over the Duke Blue Devils, 94–88.-NCAA tournament:*Mideast...

. For his career, Phillips scored 1,367 points (11.4 per game) and grabbed 755 rebounds (6.3 per game).

Following graduation, Phillips was drafted by the New Jersey Nets

New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 in the 1978 NBA Draft

1978 NBA Draft

The 1978 NBA Draft was the 32nd annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on June 9, 1978, before the 1978–79 season. In this draft, 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...

, but never played in the NBA. In 1979, he found his way to Spain where he had a fruitful career. Phillips played six years in Spain's top league (Liga ACB), winning a league championship in 1981 with FC Barcelona Bàsquet

FC Barcelona Bàsquet

FC Barcelona Bàsquet, known as FC Barcelona Regal for sponsorship reasons, is a Spanish professional basketball club. It is part of the FC Barcelona sports club and was founded on August 24, 1926 which makes it the oldest club in Liga ACB. The club competes in the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto...

. For his ACB career, Phillips scored 4,423 points (23.2 per game) and grabbed 1,765 rebounds (9.2 per game) in his six seasons.