University of Tennessee Athletics
2022-23 Men's Basketball Roster
Roster
Phillips, Julian

Jersey Number 2
Julian Phillips
- Class:
- Freshman
- Position:
- F
- Height:
- 6-8
- Weight:
- 198
- Hometown:
- Blythewood, S.C.
- High School:
- Link Academy (Mo.)
Bio
CAREER HIGHS
- Points: 25 // vs. USC, 11/24/22
- Rebounds: 11 // at Mississippi State, 1/17/23
- Assists: 6 // vs. Georgia, 1/25/23
- Steals: 2 (6x) // last vs. Louisiana, 3/16/23
- Blocks: 2 (3x) // last vs. Auburn, 2/4/23
- Field Goals: 7 // vs. USC, 11/24/22
- 3-Pointers: 2 (2x) // last at LSU, 1/21/23
- Free Throws: 10 // vs. USC, 11/24/22
- Minutes: 37:56 // at Mississippi State, 1/17/23
HONORS
- 2023 SEC All-Freshman Team
- SEC Freshman of the Week (Jan. 23)
- 2022 Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament Team
PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL
- NBA Bio Page
- Appeared in 79 games and made five starts in his second year with Chicago, averaging 4.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 14.2 minutes of action per game
- In four games during the 2024 NBA Summer League, averaged 13.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game for the Bulls.
- Was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 35th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, with his contract rights ultimately acquired by the Chicago Bulls.
- At the 2023 NBA Draft Combine in May, Phillips posted the best standing vertical leap (36 inches) and best max vertical leap (43 inches) among all combine participants.
2022-23 - FRESHMAN
- Game-by-Game Statistics
- VIDEO: 2023 Player Feature
- Missed four games with a hip flexor injury but appeared in all 32 games when healthy, making 25 starts.
- Averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting .411 from the field in 24.1 minutes per game.
- His 1.8 offensive rebounds per game were second-most on the team.
- Scored in double figures 13 times and grabbed 10 or more rebounds three times.
- Led the Vols in rebounding six times, steals four times and scoring two times.
- Threw down 12 dunks and drew five charges on the year.
- After tying his season-high with two steals in his NCAA Tournament debut vs. Louisiana (3/16/23), he contributed four points—on a pair of highlight-reel slams—three rebounds and two assists in the Vols' second-round win over Duke (3/18/23).
- Totaled 10 points and eight rebounds against Missouri in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals (3/10/23).
- Gave the Vols eight points and six rebounds in his collegiate postseason debut vs. Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament (3/9/23).
- Was shooting .347 from the field entering SEC play but improved his field-goal percentage to .500 spanning the 14 league games in which he appeared, leading to SEC All-Freshman Team honors.
- Gave the Vols 10 points, six rebounds and an assist in the regular-season finale at Auburn (3/4/23).
- Returned after missing four games due to injury to play 26 minutes against Arkansas (2/28/23), coming off the bench for the first time all season and recording seven points, five rebounds and three assists.
- A hip flexor injury suffered in practice caused him to miss four straight games in February.
- Scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting at Vanderbilt (2/8/23) and also added four rebounds and a pair of assists.
- Dished out a season-high six assists in the win over Georgia (1/25/23) and scored all five of his points at the free-throw line.
- Named SEC Freshman of the Week on Jan. 23 after averaging 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 4-for-7 from 3-point range in a pair of road wins over Mississippi State and LSU.
- Scored in double figures in back-to-back SEC games for the first time in his career—compiling 10 points, four rebounds and two steals at LSU (1/21/23).
- Authored his highest-scoring SEC game as a Vol and second-career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds at Mississippi State (1/17/23), coming on strong after halftime with 13 second-half points.
- Recorded his highest scoring total in over a month against Vanderbilt (1/10/23), scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting as well as posting six rebounds and three assists.
- Had an efficient offensive night against Mississippi State (1/3/23), scoring 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and pulling down a team-high seven rebounds.
- Produced his first career double-double against Eastern Kentucky (12/7/22) with a 16-point, 10-rebound outing.
- Recorded his second-high scoring output of the season with 18 points against Alcorn State (12/4/22), also tallying four rebounds and three assists. Was 7-for-7 at the free-throw line.
- Posted another all-around outing against McNeese State (11/30/22) with 12 points, five rebounds, a game-high four assists, two blocks and two steals.
- Made the Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament Team after leading the Vols with 13.3 points in UT’s three wins.
- Dominated during the overtime win over USC (11/24/22), scoring 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting and grabbing a season-high eight boards. Also was 10-for-12 at the free-throw line in a season-high 38 minutes.
- Matched then-season-high totals in points (11) and rebounds (6) in a season-high 27 minutes against Butler (11/23/22).
- Got to the free-throw line 12 times against Florida Gulf Coast (11/16/22), scoring 11 points in total and grabbing five rebounds.
- In his official collegiate debut, he started and totaled eight points, six rebounds, three assists and one highlight-reel block in 24 minutes of action during the Vols' season-opening win over Tennessee Tech (11/7/22).
- Scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting (3-for-3 from 3-point range) in Tennessee’s exhibition win over No. 2 Gonzaga (10/28/22).
HIGH SCHOOL
- Graduated from Link Academy in Branson, Missouri, where he was coached by Rodney Perry.
- Rated as the nation’s No. 13 overall prospect in the Class of 2022 by both ESPN and Rivals and No. 18 overall by 247 Sports.
- Became the fourth McDonald’s All-American to sign with Tennessee in as many years.
- In more than 17 minutes of action during the 2022 McDonald’s All-American game, Phillips scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, with three assists, two rebounds and a steal.
- Link Academy ascended to No. 3 in the final 2021-22 USA Today Super 25 high school basketball rankings in April after the team compiled a 33-2 record and advanced to the championship game of the prestigious GEICO National Championships.
- Phillips was Link Academy’s top scorer in the national title game, totaling 16 points (33 percent of the Lions’ team total).
- Before transitioning to Link Academy, Phillips was a Class 5A All-State performer for coach Zeke Washington at Blythewood High School in Blythewood, South Carolina.
- Prior to his junior year at Blythewood, Phillips had already earned billing as the No. 1-rated player in South Carolina and the No. 15 small forward in the nation for the Class of 2022, according to 247Sports.
- Phillips played his AAU ball with Upward Stars in the adidas 3SSB Series.
PERSONAL
- Full name is Julian Isaiah Phillips
- Born Nov. 5, 2003, in Killeen, Texas
- Son of Kim and Chamberlain, who both served with and retired from the U.S. Army
- Is set to become only the fifth Tennessee basketball letterman from the state of South Carolina
- Academic Major: Communication Studies
- Recipient of the Estep Athletic Scholarship
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