Phil Lumpkin

Phil Lumpkin

Personal information
Born	(1951-12-20)December 20, 1951 Dayton, Ohio
Died	November 2, 2009(2009-11-02) (aged 57) Seattle, Washington
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight	165 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High school	Nettie Lee Roth (Dayton, Ohio)
College	Miami (Ohio) (1971–1974)
NBA draft	1974 / Round: 2 / Pick: 34th overall
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career	1974–1976
Position	Point guard
Number	10
Career history
1974–1975	Portland Trail Blazers
1975–1976	Phoenix Suns
Career highlights and awards
2× First-team All-MAC (1973, 1974)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Phil Lumpkin (December 20, 1951 – November 2, 2009) was an American professional basketball player and high school basketball coach.

Early life

Lumpkin was born in Dayton, Ohio^[1] the son of Harold and Dorothy Lumpkin. He starred at Roth High School in Dayton, where he teamed at guard with another future NBA player, Don Smith. Lumpkin graduated from Roth in 1970.^[2]

College career

Lumpkin played college basketball at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he letter for three years. He became the starting point guard as a sophomore, averaging a team-leading 16.7 points and 3.5 assists per game.^[3]

As a junior in 1972-73, he averaged 13.8 points and 5.7 assists and led Miami to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) title. As a senior he again led the team with 18.1 points and 5.7 assists per game.^[4]

In 1981, he received his degree in Physical Education from Miami.^[5]

NBA career

A 6'0" (1.83 m) and 165 lb (75 kg) point guard, Lumpkin was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round (34th overall) of the 1974 NBA Draft, opting to play for that team instead of the Virginia Squires which selected him in the American Basketball Association draft. He played two seasons in the NBA as a member of the Blazers and Phoenix Suns, averaging 3.3 points per game.^[1]

As a rookie, he played in 48 games, averaging 16.5 minutes, 4.2 points and 3.7 assists per game.^[6] Coach Lenny Wilkens did, however, start him at point guard for a seven-game stretch in which Lumpkin 9.1 points and 8.3 assists in 35.7 minutes of playing time per game as the Blazers won three of the seven. He also had 10 assists in each of two of those games.^[7] His high-point game was on January 10, 1975 with 14 points against the Phoenix Suns.^[8]

On June 9, 1975, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. In 34 games, he averaged 10.9 minutes, 2.1 points and 1.4 assists per game and the Suns advanced to the NBA Finals, losing four games to two to the Boston Celtics.^[9]

On October 15, 1976, he was waived by the Suns, ending his two-year NBA career.^[10]

Coaching career

In 1991, Lumpkin became a physical education teacher and head coach of the boys' basketball program at O'Dea High School in Seattle, Washington. Between 1993 and 2007, the team advanced to seven state finals and won five Class 3A state titles, in 1993, 1997, 2004, 2005, and 2007.^[11]

Personal life

In 1983, Lumpkin was inducted into the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame.^[12]

He was discovered dead on the Monday morning of November 2, 2009, shortly after being diagnosed with pneumonia. He was 57 years old. He was survived by a son.^[13]

Shortly before his death, he was selected for induction into the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Association Hall of Fame. Also in his honor, the O'Dea High School basketball court was renamed Phil Lumpkin Court.^[14]

References