Fans of the Highlanders have enjoyed watching and learning about the members of the Radford University men’s basketball team on the court. What they might not know much about is the more personal side of each student-athlete. To get to know each of the men’s basketball players better, the team at RadfordAthletics.com sat down with each of them to find out a little bit about their time at Radford, how they got into basketball and more.
Randy Phillips, a senior center who averaged 4.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while starting all 32 games last season.
Question: Who has been the most influential person in your basketball career, from the day you first picked up a basketball to now?
Phillips: It’s got to be the man who first introduced me to the game of basketball, a guy named Greg Riley. He ran a local AAU team and he was the first person to let me join a team and give me a chance to play basketball.
Q: What are your personal and team goals for this season?
Phillips: I want to do something that I’ve never done in my life. I’ve always gotten to the championship game and come up short or improved upon a previous season, but still not reached our goals. I want to take this program to the next level and win a Big South championship.
Q: How did you choose the jersey number, 32?
Phillips: I chose 32 because the school that I played at before, the best guy on the team wore number 32. I felt like, for me, if I wanted to bring out the best in myself I had to be better than him. One day I finally played him one-on-one for his jersey and beat him so I’ve worn 32 ever since.
Q: What is one word you’d use to describe your style of play?
Phillips: Aggressive
Q: Do you have any pregame rituals?
Phillips: I don’t really have any specific pregame rituals. I normally just listen to music and play around with my teammates to get myself into a good mood before taking the court.
Q: What song, album, or artist do you listen to while getting ready for a game?
Phillips: “I Put On” by Young Jeezy
Q: When you first got to Radford, what teammates or coaches took you under their wing and welcomed you into the Radford family?
Phillips: Everybody in the program helped make Radford feel like home, but Justin Cousin was great to me. He’s just a very positive person.
Q: If you could have dinner with three people, past or present, who would they be?
Phillips: Will Smith, T.I. and Kevin Garnett.
Q: What professional player do you model your game after?
Phillips: My favorite player is Kevin Garnett. He was more of a shooting big man than I am so I don’t necessarily model my game after him, but he’s definitely my favorite player.
Q: Favorite NBA team
Phillips: Boston Celtics
Q: Favorite food
Phillips: Burgers
Q: Favorite movie
Phillips: Tarzan (yes, the animated Disney movie)
Q: Favorite class at Radford
Phillips: My public speaking class. It was a lot of fun because we learned a lot and everyone’s speeches were always different so every day was different.
–RU Athletics