Rashad Phillips

Rashad Keith Phillips (born May 5, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. In eight years playing professionally, Phillips competed in more than eight different countries for more than ten different teams. He is 5'10" tall, weighs 162 pounds and played the point guard position. Since retiring from basketball he has started and continues to run "Skills Unlimited", a training and mentoring program for children that uses basketball as a vehicle to help them overcome their obstacles.

Early life

Phillips, a native of the North Central section of Detroit, Michigan, grew up in a rough neighborhood. His father, Virgil, wanted to keep him off the streets, so he created a program called REACH (an acronym for religion, education, athletics, character and hope) where Rashad and others could go to play basketball and stay out of trouble. Later, when he was a senior at college, Phillips said, "I thank God every day for giving me a father who did the things he did for me... I've seen a lot of people fall victim to the streets, but that was never an option for me. I always had a gym to go to. What my father has done has saved so many lives."