Personal information | |
---|---|
Born |
Brooklyn, New York |
November 20, 1953
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
Career information | |
High school |
Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, New York) |
College | Rutgers (1972–1976) |
NBA draft | 1976 / Round: 3 / Pick: 48th overall |
Selected by the Detroit Pistons | |
Playing career | 1976–1979 |
Position | Small forward / Shooting guard |
Number | 11 |
Career history | |
1976–1977 | Detroit Pistons |
1978 | Jersey Shore Bullets (CBA) |
1978–1979 | Amsterdam Amstel Veen (Netherlands) |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Phillip "Phil" Sellers, Jr. (born November 20, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the NBA.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Sellers played high school basketball at Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn. He achieved success at the prep level, winning the MVP Award of Pittsburgh's Dapper Dan Tournament at the end of his senior season. He also earned All-America honors at Jefferson and received over 200 scholarship offers from colleges across the country to play basketball. Sellers signed a letter of intent to play at Notre Dame, but worries about managing the tough academics made him reconsider and so he attended Livingston College in New Jersey, a part of Rutgers University specially designed to help students from low-income backgrounds.
At Rutgers, Sellers played under then-assistant coach and future college basketball legend Dick Vitale. His decision to become a Scarlet Knight was initially criticized, but Sellers lead Rutgers to two NIT berths during his freshman and sophomore seasons and then back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in his final two collegiate seasons.
Rutgers University's best men's basketball season in school history came during 1975–76. Sellers, a senior and Consensus Second Team All-American, led the team to a 31–0 start. The team finished 31–2, and their only two losses occurred in the national semifinals (to Michigan) and the third-place game (to UCLA). Sellers graduated from Rutgers in 1976 and is still the school's all-time leading scorer (2,399) and rebounder (1,115). On January 16, 1988, he had his jersey number (#12) retired, making him one of only three Scarlet Knights players to have ever been so honored.