CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Former Charleston High and WVU basketball standout Levi Phillips died Tuesday following a long illness. He was 69.
Phillips, who suffered from diabetes, was one of the key pieces of outstanding Charleston High teams along with Curtis Price and Larry Harris which had a three-year record of 72-3 and won 48 straight games.
Andy Richardson, a close friend, said Levi had so many great stories.
“Competitive athletics leads to great stories about teammates and games and he knew everybody in the community,” Richardson said.
After being heavily recruited by colleges across the country, Phillips chose WVU. He often said it was a phone call from former WVU All-American Ron “Fritz” Williams that convinced him.
“I was 17-years-old and got a call from Fritz Williams and it excited me to no end,” Phillips said.
He was honored at a WVU basketball game last February. Phillips made the first basketball in the first game at the WVU Coliseum on Dec. 1, 1970.
Phillips said on MetroNews “Talkline” the day before that February ceremony that the first basket was a follow-up of a miss by the Mountaineers best player Will Robinson.
“Will was our shooter. He shot it and it bounced out to the free throw line and I put it back in,” Phillips said.
It was the first of 5 shots Phillips made in the 113-92 win over Colgate.
WVU coach Bob Huggins, was close personal friends with Phillips, told reporters back in February that Phillips was a talented player.
“Levi was really good. He was fast in transition. He had great speed,” Huggins said.
Richardson said Phillips leaves behind several other positive things that have gained little public notoriety including his time helping lead an AAU basketball program.
“He made a conscious effort with his AAU basketball program. They would tutor and test their players to make sure to make sure they were doing better with school,” Richardson said.
Phillips’ life was far from trouble-free but he was resilient, Richardson said.
Phillips once told the Charleston Gazette-Mail you couldn’t separate his name from basketball.
“We’ve been joined at the hip since I was six or seven years old,” he told the paper.
He was pure Charleston, Richardson said.
“He was a product of Washington Manor the old playground over there (Donnally Street) that turned out so many great players,” Richardson said. “He lived for years on the West Side.”
And that’s where he died Tuesday surrounded by family.
Richardson saw him for the last time about 10 days ago. He had taken Phillips to meet some old teammates who were in town.
“We had a good talk in the car on the way back over to his house,” Richardson said. “He was frail. He’s in a better place.”