Derrick Phelps has been hired as an assistant coach on the Marist men’s basketball staff, head coach John Dunne announced.
“I am very pleased to add Derrick to our staff,” Dunne said. “He has a wealth of experience as a former player and coach. He brings a great pedigree but is as humble a person as they come. I believe he will fit in very well with our staff and the Marist community as a whole.”
Phelps, who was a starter on North Carolina’s 1993 national championship team, brings over a quarter century of professional playing and Division I coaching experience.
“I’m very excited to be part of the Marist family,” Phelps said. “I’m looking forward to working with Coach Dunne and staff to help lead our young student-athletes to be great on and off the court.”
Phelps comes to Marist from Monmouth, where he was a special assistant to head coach King Rice as the Hawks transitioned to the Colonial Athletic Association. He previously was an assistant coach at Monmouth from 2011-14, where he aided in the development of Justin Robinson, who would become a 2,000-point scorer and two-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
From 2019-22, Phelps was an assistant at Washington State. There, he helped develop CJ Elleby, who became the 46th overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft. He helped the Cougars reach the Final Four of the 2022 NIT.
Phelps worked as associate head coach at San Francisco from 2016-19. He assisted in the development of a pair of two-time all-West Coast Conference selections who went on to professional careers in Frankie Ferrari and Jamaree Bouyea. Ferrari has played in the Euroleague and G-League, and Bouyea was a 2022 Miami Heat Summer League signee. The Dons enjoyed 20-win seasons each year of his tenure, and played in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) in 2017 and 2018.
Phelps was associate head coach at Columbia from 2014-16, where he helped lead the Lions to the College Insider Tournament (CIT) championship in 2016. The Lions also appeared in the CIT in 2015. Phelps was previously the video coordinator at Fordham in the 2010-11 season.
In the 2009-10 season, Phelps was a player-coach for Clubul Sportiv Gaz Metan in Romania. His first coaching position came at his alma mater, Christ The King High School in New York City, from 2007-09. Phelps was a McDonald’s All-American at Christ The King in 1990.
Phelps’ collegiate career at North Carolina spanned from 1990-94, and earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1994. He was a three-year starter for the Tar Heels who played in the Final Four in 1991 and 1993 and appeared in 134 games. He became the first player in ACC history to record 600 assists, 400 rebounds, and 200 steals in his career. Phelps was Honorable Mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference in 1993 and Second Team All-ACC in 1994.
Professionally, Phelps played for the Sacramento Kings in 1995 and was a member of the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies the following year. He then competed internationally from 1996-2010 in Germany, France, Netherlands, Russia, and Romania. He won championships in Germany in 2001 and 2002, and was named Most Valuable Player of BBL Germany in 2001.
Former UNC standout Phelps joins Marist Basketball Staff
