Julian Phillips leads CB West boys basketball in scoring 35 years after dad Thomas did

DOYLESTOWN — Thomas Phillips averaged 24 points per game as the leading scorer on the 1988-89 Central Bucks West boys basketball team.

A 6-foot-2 senior guard, Phillips led the Bucks in 3-pointers made and earned all-state honors for head coach Wayne Finkbeiner, who called Phillips "the best outside shooter I've had since I've been coaching." Phillips went on to play college ball at Fairmont State in West Virginia.

Thirty-five years later, Julian Phillips, Thomas' son and a 6-3 wing, is CB West's leading scorer. And Thomas trains him.

Talk about coming full circle …

"That's pretty crazy, right?" said Thomas Phillips with a smile.

"It's amazing to see," Julian Phillips said. "He's really proud of me and we're going to continue to work and keep getting better."

Julian has watched video of his dad playing online and sees some similarities between them.

"We've been able to compare our games because he's a shooter and I've been known as a shooter," Julian said. "He knows a lot of stuff about the game. He's able to teach me things. He helped me get better and continue to grow as a player and as a person. It's been showing in my game."

Thomas Phillips and Jonathan Haynes, a three-year starting point guard at Villanova (1992-95), partnered to help develop players with Elite Skills Basketball before Phillips began working with Julian.

"Once he started playing basketball, I transitioned everything I learned into that," Thomas added. "He knows I know a little bit about (the sport)."

Julian Phillips, who is averaging 11 points for the 10-3 Bucks, gave a taste of what he can do during a two-possession stretch in the second quarter of Wednesday's 58-27 non-conference victory over visiting Quakertown.

First, he stole a pass in the backcourt and went in for an emphatic dunk, then he found senior Dan Gallagher with a nice backdoor feed for an uncontested layup.

"Once I got here (in 2001), I heard about the success (Thomas Phillips) had as a player," said Bucks 23rd-year head coach Adam Sherman. "It's great to get somebody in that gene line. Very excited to have Jules and looking forward to (the rest of) the season."

Julian played JV ball as a sophomore, then became a starter last year.

"I'm really proud of how Jules has really improved so much over the past three years," Sherman said. "Sophomore to junior year, he took a huge step. This past summer he worked his tail off and his improvement continues. His senior year, he took another huge step. We're excited to see the hard work that he's put in.

"It's neat to see the family. He's got a lot of support from his mom (Jodi Finney) and dad and brothers (including Rowan, a talented 6-3 eighth grader). It's a credit to Jules and the amount of work he's put in."

The individual and team highlight for Phillips and West this season has been going 3-0 and winning the Modie Risher Holiday Tournament in Charleston, S.C. The Bucks defeated Byrnes (S.C.) 56-51 in the championship game with tourney MVP Phillips scoring 18 points after he tallied 15 in a 47-28 victory over Collins Hill (Ga.).

"It helped us find our identity," Phillips said. "We were able to get some nice team bonding there and get closer. We trust each other a lot more and that transferred back here (to the Quakertown win)."

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The Bucks played unselfish basketball in South Carolina and have continued to do so, which is making a difference.

"In South Carolina, we started playing 'we over me,'" Julian Phillips said. "That's kind of our coaches' thing. Before that, our losses were more 'me over we.' We were able to reassess that."

West's improved defense and team-first attitude have Sherman and the players looking forward to what is to come. The Bucks (4-3 vs. Suburban One League competition) have won six in a row heading into Tuesday's game at SOL Patriot Division-leading Bensalem. After completing the schedule against their SOL Patriot opponents, they'll have second meetings with SOL Colonial Division foes, followed by a likely trip to the District One playoffs.

A year ago, CB West went 6-16 (4-12 SOL) and didn't qualify for districts.

"You can see our confidence is growing," Sherman said. "We're really defending. Getting kids in high school to share the ball is sometimes a hard thing to do, but they're buying into it and playing for each other. Hopefully, that'll carry us further."

Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes.com; @TomMoorePhilly

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Julian Phillips leads CB West boys basketball in scoring