General
Transfer from Tennessee who sat out the 2017-18 season and played two seasons at Georgia Tech (2018-20) … Part-time starter (24 starts, 64 games) over two years with the Volunteers who shot 37.1 percent from three-point range and 77 percent from the free throw line … Proved himself to be a capable scorer and established a reputation as a good defender … Born in Atlanta, also has lived in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Queens, N.Y. … Began playing basketball in ninth grade … Enjoys swimming and riding bicycles … Studied criminal justice at Tennessee; earned his bachelor’s degree in history, techn0logy and society at Tech in May, 2020.
A disappointing Tech career revealed Shembari Phillips’ character – Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 5, 2020
2019-20 (senior at Georgia Tech)
Played in 14 games, with a season high of 19 minutes against Morehouse (season high seven points and five assists) … Hit a pair of three-point field goals for six points against Ball State … Got a start on Senior Night against Pittsburgh and hit a three-point field goal.
2018-19 (junior at Georgia Tech)
Made the starting lineup to start the season, started six games, averaging 19.7 minutes, 4.7 points and 1.3 assists per game … Scored 10 points against Lamar with four assists in the season opener, which turned out to be his season high … Played in only 11 of Tech’s last 18 games, but played 10 minutes at Clemson and 22 against Louisville in the absences of Brandon Alston and Jose Alvarado … Played in nine ACC games (DNP last two regular season games) … Did not travel to Notre Dame (2/10) or Virginia Tech (2/13) because of the flu … Hit 32.6 percent from the floor and 4-of-22 from three-point range.
One more go around for @idunkonu_2. Take a look back at some of his highlights from last season.#BuiltDifferent /// #TogetherWeSwarm 🐝 pic.twitter.com/ewyFj7oGij
— Georgia Tech Basketball (@GTMBB) May 22, 2019
2016-17 (sophomore at Tennessee) – Game-by-Game Statistics
Appeared in 31 games and made 13 starts during his sophomore campaign … Ended the season averaging 6.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 20.9 minutes per game … Led the Vols in assists seven times and led the team in steals eight times … Averaged 32.3 mpg over his final four games of the season, posting 8.3 ppg and 5.0 rpg during that span … Due partly to defensive ability, he saw increased minutes at the point guard position over the final three weeks of the season … Missed the Vols’ SEC Tournament game against Georgia (3/9/17) with a left ankle injury (suffered during practice the previous day) … Made his second straight start and played a team-high 34 minutes in the win vs. Alabama (3/4/17) … Matched his season-high with 16 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes at LSU (3/1/17) … Scored 14 points and handed out a career-best seven assists against Georgia Tech (12/3/16) … Made two starts at point guard at the Maui Invitational and finished the tournament with a scoring average of 10.7 ppg and played the second-most minutes on the team at 26.7 per contest … Scored a team-high 16 points–shooting 5-for-9 overall, 3-for-4 from 3-point range and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line–during Tennessee’s loss to No. 16 Wisconsin at the Maui Invitational (11/21/16).
2015-16 (freshman at Tennessee) – Game-by-Game Statistics
Appeared in 33 games for the Vols during his freshman campaign, getting the starting nod in each of the final 11 games of the season … Averaged 5.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 16.2 minutes per game … In SEC play, he owned the best 3-point percentage (.459) among all league freshmen with at least 30 attempts … In 22 games prior to earning his first start, Phillips averaged 10.4 minutes per game. In his 11 starts thereafter, he averaged 27.9 mpg … Ran off a streak of four consecutive games of double-figure scoring late in the regular season, including a season-best 23 points at Vanderbilt (3/1/16) which included four made 3-pointers … Scored 13 points in 32 minutes of play in Tennessee’s home loss to Arkansas (2/27/16) … Posted a then-season-best in scoring with 16 points at South Carolina (2/24/16); he also handed out four assists for the second straight game … With senior Kevin Punter Jr. sidelined with a foot injury, Phillips played a season-high 38 minutes and scored 13 points to help the Volunteers top LSU, 81-65, at home (2/20/16) … Knocked down three 3-pointers in a then-season-high 23 minutes of action en route to 12 points at Arkansas (2/6/16) … Recorded his best performance as a Vol against No. 21 Texas A&M (1/9/16), finishing with a then-season-best 15 points in 18 minutes of action (went 9-of-10 at the free throw line).
High School
Graduated from Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga., where he was coached by Doug Lipscomb … Helped lead Wheeler to a 30-2 record the 2015 Class AAAAAA state championship … Was a 2015 McDonald’s All-American nominee … Made Sportscenter’s “Top Plays” by throwing down a posterizing, one-handed transition dunk during the Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., on Jan. 19, 2015 … Rated by Hoopseen.com as one of the top 10 prospects in Georgia’s Class of 2015 … Attended Tucker High School in Tucker, Ga., as a junior in 2013-14, averaging 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks under coach James Hartry … Played AAU ball with the Georgia Tornadoes program, coached by Steven Bouye.
