Wagner's Kerstie Phills featured on NBA TV

(Photo by Wagner College Athletics)

*Editor's Note: The following feature was compiled by John Beisser, Assistant Athletic Director of Media Relations at Wagner College, and is being used with the permission of both Mr. Beisser and Wagner College.

STATEN ISLAND -- January 12, 2017, will mark 17 years since the death of former NBA guard Bobby Phills, who was killed in a three-car accident after losing control of his vehicle and crashing into oncoming traffic.

 
Bobby and Kendall Phills had two children, both of whom have gone on to play college basketball. Kerstie Phills, who was a one-year old at the time of her father's death, is in her freshman season as a member of the Wagner women's basketball team. Her older brother, Bobby Ray Phills III, nicknamed Trey, is in his sophomore season playing at Yale, and was three years old when he lost his father,
 
In the latest episode of NBA TV's Beyond the Paint, in conjunction with NCAA.com, Phills' family and friends look back on the tragedy and provide an update on their family life more than a decade-and-a-half later.
 
Phills played in the NBA for nine seasons, his first six with the Cleveland Cavaliers and last three with the Charlotte Hornets. He was a three-and-D wing more than a decade before that became a regular part of the NBA vernacular; he finished as a 39 percent shooter from three-point range and was named to the 1995-96 All-Defensive Second Team.
 
Michael Jordan called Phills the toughest defender he ever faced.
 
The Hornets retired Bobby Phills' No. 13 in 2000. While the No. 13 was used when the franchise was branded the Bobcats, the team re-retired Phills' number after rebranding back to the Hornets name in 2014-15.
 
To View the 7:23 feature, click HERE