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Saul Phillips (basketball)

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Saul Phillips
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamNorthern State
ConferenceNSIC
Record100–57
Biographical details
Born (1972-10-11) October 11, 1972 (age 52)
Reedsburg, Wisconsin, U.S.
Playing career
1991–1995Wisconsin–Platteville
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1996–1997Wayne State (NE) (assistant)
1997–1999Lake Superior State (assistant)
1999–2001Milwaukee (assistant)
2004–2007North Dakota State (assistant)
2007–2014North Dakota State
2014–2019Ohio
2019–presentNorthern State
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2001–2004Wisconsin (DBO)
Head coaching record
Overall315–214 (.593)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 Summit League tournament (2009, 2014)
2 Summit League regular season (2009, 2014)
2 NSIC regular season (2020, 2023)
2 NSIC tournament (2020, 2021)
3 NSIC North Division (2020, 2021, 2023)
Awards
2× Summit League Coach of the Year (2009, 2014)
NSIC North Division Coach of the Year (2021)
NSIC Coach of the Year (2023)

Saul Edward Phillips (born October 10, 1972[1]) is an American college basketball coach. He is currently the head coach of the Northern State Wolves men's basketball team. Phillips is a graduate of University of Wisconsin–Platteville.

Coaching career

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North Dakota State University

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Phillips got his start at NDSU as an assistant coach under Tim Miles in 2004. When Miles left the school to coach Colorado State in 2007, Phillips was promoted to head coach.[2]

In 2009 Phillips led the North Dakota State Bison to win the Summit League tournament championship and became the first team since Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana–Lafayette) in 1972 to advance to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in their first year of eligibility. On January 17, 2013; Saul Phillips notched his 100th win with the Bison.

Phillips reached the NCAA tournament once again in 2014 after winning the Summit League tournament. Seeded 12th in the NCAA Tournament, the Bison upset 5th seeded Oklahoma in the second round 80–75,[3] then lost to 4th seeded San Diego State 44-63[4] in the third round. He is currently 4th on the all-time wins list in NDSU men's basketball history.

Ohio University

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On April 6, 2014, Phillips agreed to become the 18th head coach of the Ohio Bobcats.[5] The 2014–15 Bobcats finished with a 10–20 overall record and only 5 wins in the MAC in spite of the presence of future NBA player Maurice Ndour. In 2015–16 the Bobcats went 23–12 and 11–7 MAC Conference record giving them the #2 seed in the 2016 MAC tournament. Junior Antonio Campbell was named the 2016 MAC Player of the Year after averaging a double-double throughout the season.[6][7] The Bobcats lost to Buffalo in the semifinal game of the MAC Tournament 74–88.[8] Ohio accepted an invitation to the 2016 College Basketball Invitational. They reached the semifinals but lost to Morehead State.[9] His 2016–17 went 20–10 overall and 11–7 in the MAC which was good for second place.

His last two seasons at Ohio were plagued by player injuries and resulted in 14-17 records both seasons. On March 13, 2019, Phillips' contract was not renewed by Ohio after 5 seasons.[10] One of his successes at Ohio turned out to be offering Jason Preston, who was unrecruited out of high school, a scholarship. Preston was later selected in the 2021 NBA draft.[11]

Northern State University

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On June 11, 2019, Phillips was named the head men's basketball coach at Northern State following the departure of Paul Sather[12] In his first season, the Wolves won the NSIC regular season championship and the NSIC tournament championship. However, the postseason was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
North Dakota State Bison (The Summit League) (2007–2014)
2007–08 North Dakota State 16–13 10–8 4th
2008–09 North Dakota State 26–7 16–2 1st NCAA round of 64
2009–10 North Dakota State 11–18 8–10 6th
2010–11 North Dakota State 14–15 8–10 7th
2011–12 North Dakota State 17–14 9–9 3rd CBI first round
2012–13 North Dakota State 24–10 12–4 3rd CBI first round
2013–14 North Dakota State 26–6 12–2 1st NCAA round of 32
North Dakota State: 134–83 (.615) 75–45 (.625)
Ohio Bobcats (Mid-American Conference) (2014–2019)
2014–15 Ohio 10–20 5–13 6th (East)
2015–16 Ohio 23–12 11–7 2nd (East) CBI semifinals
2016–17 Ohio 20–11 11–7 2nd (East)
2017–18 Ohio 14–17 7–11 T–4th (East)
2018–19 Ohio 14–17 6–12 6th (East)
Ohio: 81–77 (.513) 40–50 (.444)
Northern State (NSIC) (2019–present)
2019–20 Northern State 26–6 18–4 1st Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 Northern State 19–2 13–1 1st** 2021 NCAA DII Regional Finals
2021–22 Northern State 20–12 13–9 5th
2022–23 Northern State 24–7 19–3 1st 2023 NCAA DII First Round
2023–24 Northern State 10–19 8–14 T-11th
2024–25 Northern State 1–11 0–6
Northern State: 100–57 (.637) 71–37 (.657)
Total: 315–216 (.593)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

**-During the 2020-21 season, only a North and South Division winner were awarded, no overall conference championship was given due to COVID-19

House Hunters

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Season 185, episode 7 of HGTV's show House Hunters featured Saul as he and his wife search for a home in Aberdeen, South Dakota.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "NCAA® Career Statistics".
  2. ^ "Saul Phillips Named Ohio Men's Basketball Head Coach - OHIOBOBCATS.COM - Ohio Official Athletic Site". www.ohiobobcats.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07.
  3. ^ "North Dakota State vs. Oklahoma - Game Recap - March 20, 2014 - ESPN".
  4. ^ "North Dakota State vs. San Diego State - Game Recap - March 22, 2014 - ESPN".
  5. ^ "Saul Phillips Named Ohio Men's Basketball Head Coach - OHIOBOBCATS.COM - Ohio Official Athletic Site". www.ohiobobcats.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07.
  6. ^ "Antonio Campbell Profile". ESPN.
  7. ^ "Junior Forward Becomes Ninth Bobcat to Earn League's Highest Honor". ohiobobcats.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016.
  8. ^ "Buffalo beats Ohio 88-74 to return to MAC title game". ESPN.
  9. ^ "CBI Semifinals Summary". ESPN.
  10. ^ "Ohio Athletics Announces Change In Men's Basketball Leadership" (Press release). Ohio Bobcats. March 13, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  11. ^ Mirjam, Swanson (July 30, 2021). "Clippers eager to bet on Ohio's Jason Preston". The Orange County Register.
  12. ^ "Saul Phillips named Northern basketball coach".
  13. ^ "Winning in Aberdeen". Retrieved March 18, 2020.
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