LeMoyne-Owen College president Christopher Davis, and Director of Athletics William Anderson, have announced Faragi Phillips as the college’s next head men’s basketball coach. Phillips will be tasked with reviving the LeMoyne-Owen basketball program after consecutive challenging seasons.
Phillips has spent the last 5 years as an assistant at Vanderbilt University under Jerry Stackhouse, and the University of Memphis under Penny Hardaway. Before becoming head coach at LeMoyne-Owen, Phillips’ coached at the University of Memphis. In his first season in the Bluff City, he helped lead the Tigers to a 26-9 overall record, their first AAC championship, the program’s first-ever win over the nation’s top-ranked team and a second-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
On Court Success:
2022-2024 Seasons
University Of Memphis
• Most victories in a decade, claimed the program’s first AAC crown and earned a
second trip to the NCAA Tournament.
• 10-3 in the non-conference slate, highlighted by six wins over Power Five programs and four against SEC programs.
• Earned the No. 2 seed in the AAC tournament, led by a pair of All-Conference first team performers, in Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams.
• Defeated #1 ranked Houston Cougars, marking the first AAC tournament
Championship for Memphis and the first time in program history the Tigers have knocked off the nation’s top-ranked team.
• Earned the No. 8 seed in the East Region of 2023 NCAA Tournament.
• Helped develop All-American Kendric Davis who led the AAC in scoring (21.9)
and tops in assists (5.4).
• Kendric Davis was AAC Tournament Championship MVP after scoring a conference tournament record 84 points over three games.
• Six-time AAC Player of the Week and broke the conference’s career marks for points scored (2,059), total assists (630), free throws made (558) and player of
the week honors (11).
• The 2023-24 season, the Tigers won 20-plus games for the seventh-straight
season, including second straight season for Phillips as an assistant.
• 22 wins tied for the 7th-most in the program single-season history.
• Top 10 AP National Ranking, highest since 2003-2004.
- Assisted in the development of David Jones, who scored 698 points this
- season, which currently ranks eighth on the all-time single season scoring list.
• David Jones earned All-AAC First Team honors
• David Jones averaged 21.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
• David Jones league leader in scoring and total field goal makes (215), while
ranking second in steals per game, free throws made (169) and double
doubles (10).
In 2019, Phillips joined Stackhouse’s Vanderbilt staff as an assistant coach. From 2019-21, Phillips worked extensively in skill development, scouting, practice planning, player development, recruiting and academic development. He helped develop 2020 NBA Draft selections Aaron Nesmith who went 14th overall to the Boston Celtics and Saben Lee 38th overall, to the Utah Jazz. In 2021, Scotty Pippen, Jr. earned first-team All-SEC accolades as he set the school scoring record for a sophomore and finished as the SEC scoring leader at 20.8 points per game. Pippen was also second in the SEC in assists and steals and matched or increased his career-high point total six different times.
Before joining the staff at Vanderbilt, Phillips led Whitehaven High School. During his time at Whitehaven, Phillips turned the Tigers into a perennial powerhouse. In each of Phillips’ four seasons as head coach, the Tigers won 20 games or more. In 2018 and 2019, Phillips led Whitehaven to back-to-back state tournament appearances, finishing as the state runner-up and a quarter-finalist . In 2017, Phillips’ team defeated nationally-ranked Huntington Prep in the ARC Hoopfest Classic, and a year later in 2018, defeated Chicago’s Whitney Young. Phillips compiled a 91-30 record as the head coach of Whitehaven.
Prior to his stint with Whitehaven, Phillips spent four years at Mitchell, leading the Tigers to four-straight state tournaments and back-to-back state championships in 2014 and 2015. Mitchell had only won seven games over a two-year span prior Phillips’ arrival. Phillips compiled a 108-29 record over a four-year span, while also winning four consecutive sectional championships, four-straight regional championships, and three city/county championships.
Phillips first began making a name for himself in the coaching world with Memphis-based AAU circuit programs, Team Thad and Bluff City Legends (formerly Team Penny). In 2013-14, he coached with the Team Thad organization which featured notable players Terrence Davis, LaGerald Vick and Jeremiah Martin, who also played for Phillips while at Mitchell. In 2016-17, Phillips coached Team Penny and notable players including James Wiseman, DJ Jeffries, Alex Lomax and Chandler Lawson.
Phillips played collegiate at Mississippi Valley State from 1995-99, leading the team to the 1996 NCAA Tournament where they faced the Allen Iverson-led Georgetown Hoyas. A SWAC first-team all-conference performer, Phillips averaged 12.6 points in his four-year career and 20.9 points as a senior.
Phillips will look to hit the recruiting trail and have the Magicians ready to roll in the 2025-2026 season.
