Phil Lumpkin (December 20, 1951 – November 2, 2009) 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 (appr ...

player and high school basketball coach.

Early life

Lumpkin was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

Phil Lumpkin statistics
at basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on November 4, 2009. 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.

College career

Lumpkin played college basketball at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

, where he lettered 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. As a junior in 1972-73, he averaged 13.8 points and 5.7 assists and led Miami to the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

(MAC) title. As a senior, he again led the team with 18.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. In 1981, he received his degree in Physical Education from Miami.

NBA career

A 6'0" (1.83 m) and 165 lb (75 kg)

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

, Lumpkin was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round (34th overall) of the

1974 NBA draft The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual NBA Draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 NBA season, 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur ...

, opting to play for that team instead of the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

which selected him in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

draft. He played two seasons in the NBA as a member of the Blazers and

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

, averaging 3.3 points per game. As a rookie, he played in 48 games, averaging 16.5 minutes, 4.2 points and 3.7 assists per game. Coach Lenny Wilkens did, however, start him at point guard for a seven-game stretch in which Lumpkin averaged 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 two of those games. His high-point game was on January 10, 1975, with 14 points against the

. 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 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 league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

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

Coaching career

In 1991, Lumpkin became a physical education teacher and head coach of the boys' basketball program at

O'Dea High School O'Dea High School is a Catholic all boys high school founded in 1923 and is located in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood. The school is named after Edward John O'Dea who was bishop of Seattle when the school was built. O'Dea is a part of the Ar ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, 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 2008. He died two years after winning his last title in 2007, and was later succeeded by Al Hairston another legendary Seattle area prep boys basketball coach.

Personal life

In 1983, Lumpkin was inducted into the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame.http://www.muredhawks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205502220 He was discovered dead on the Monday morning of November 2, 2009, shortly after being diagnosed with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. He was 57 years old. He was survived by a son. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lumpkin, Phil 1951 births 2009 deaths African-American basketball coaches American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Ohio Basketball players from Dayton, Ohio Deaths from pneumonia in Washington (state) High school basketball coaches in Washington (state) Miami RedHawks men's basketball players Phoenix Suns players Point guards Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players Virginia Squires draft picks 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people