"Curtis is certainly a great help
to basketball in Canada. I wish him continued success in his pursuit to promote basketball." Jack
Donohue. The late great dean of Canadian hoops
"The basketball guy from Canada." Alex Sachare former
NBA media head and dean of basketball journalists.
Since
1982, Curtis J. Phillips, be it for print or electronic mediums, has been telling you the stories of Fort McMurray, Alberta
residents. It is a daily passion to promote and cover the people and sports of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
Maybe
it’s time to tell you a bit about him.
The sport
of basketball has remained the one constant in Phillips’ life and career. It was in the 1970s', a few years after
graduating high school, where he was a provincial all-star on the No. 2 ranked team in Canada, that he returned to Winnipeg,
Manitoba.
He had
just spent a year traveling the U.S. of A. in search of some asphalt court action ala White Men Can't Jump..
On the urging of Basketball Manitoba, he started writing and editing a monthly publication titled "Hoop Scoop". To his surprise and delight, several of the
articles were picked up by national and international publications including the National Basketball Association.
In 1982
it was off to the oilsands capital of the world - Fort McMurray, Alberta - to take on the role of sports/entertainment editor
at the daily newspaper.
He continues
to write a weekly sports column for the Today.
Within
his first three months in town he had organized two basketball clinics, was elected president of the Fort McMurray Basketball
Association and landed the hosting of 1983 Western Senior Men's Basketball Championships.
A go-getter,
he never looked back...setting a personal mandate to which holds true to this day, to volunteer a minimum of 20 hours
per week towards the community.
The 1990s
would find him in the role of program director for the local television station. From 1982-1991 he had volunteered at the
station to announce local sporting events.
During
his TV ventures, he spearheaded several sporting productions that gained national acclaim. They included the 1992 Alberta
Winter Games which to this day remain the largest community station telecast with 12 companies and more than 280 volunteers.
He also found time to mix hoops and television with producer/host credit for a provincial show titled "Basketball Alberta Focus."
In 2000
it was back to the world of freelance with the summers spent administrating and coaching hoops at the Legion Athletic Camp,
an international non-profit multi sport summer camp founded and still under the direction of his father George Phillips. More
than 1,200 athletes attend each summer.
Aside
from hoops and family, the volunteer bug always seems to be biting.
Not one
to sit on his laurels, Phillips is a founding member or founding father of numerous events, organizations, awards etc.
They include
the Challenge Cup, Alberta Athlete of the Year, Alberta Coach of the Year, Wood Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and most recently
the C.J. Phillips Frozen Hoops Junjior High All Star Game.
He has
also rejuvenated several events and organizations that had gone by the wayside, including Blueberry Festival and the Fort
McMurray Basketball Association.
His peers have recognized this commitment to the community and province, with Coach
of the Year , Volunteer of the Year distinction and a national "Above and Beyond" recognition. But by far the highest tribute for Phillips was the
Father of the Year honour bestowed.
He lives
by the adage of “if what you did yesterday looks good to you today...then you have done nothing today.”
Phillips
s also the first to state that it “is and always will be a team effort in making these projects and events a reality.”
He continues
to be involved in all levels of hoops be it as a coach, player, organizer or cheerleader.
Noting
that history can be fickle, he has become a basketball historian of sorts with works published in encyclopedias and used by
the NBA, FIBA and Basketball Canada.
He
also created this website www.frozenhoops.com, ranked Canada's No.2 visited basketball website.
A true
Basketball Junkie, his love for the sport has been featured in national publications and even network television in the USA.
Aside
from basketball his interests are varied and he is always at the forefront when promoting Fort McMurray and the region.
Of the
50 Greatest Players in NBA History, named in 1997, he has had the rare fortuity of meeting 33 of them to date.
So, for
a 11 year-old kid who used to listen to NBA games on short-wave radio while lining up his basketball sport cards on a basketball
court diagrammed out on a piece of cardboard, it proves that dreams do come true
He
presently is working on three books: "Frozen Hoops: the Top 150 Canadian Basketball Players of All time", "Silver Slams: Basketball
at the Movies" and "Our Namesake: William McMurray."
Top 10 Basketball Moments
10: Teamed two-on-two with Canadian hoop legend Eli Pasquale against a Larry Bird and Magic Johnson life-size cardboard cutout
to the tune of "Sweet Georgia Brown" in front of a TV camera crew at fanfare festivities at the 1985 NBA All-Star game.
Was later shown nationally on USA television.
9: Shooting hoops in a pickup game against NBA Hall of famer
and leapin' legend David "Skywalker" Thompson. Stealing the ball from him and minutes later having him dunk
it in my face with a Wilson lace. Most spectacular move I have ever seen anyone do on the same court that I was on.
8: Beating a couple of Vancouver Grizzlies players in a game
of H-O-R-S-E and trading trick shots with the Harlem Globetrotters. Also was the unofficial ballboy - at the age of 35 - for
the L.A. Lakers at an NBA exhibition game. This was the most nerve wrecking time on the hardwood ever! Also lucked out by
hitting six for seven three-pointers in the second half against the Edmonton Eskimos in a charity game.
7: Finding a pair of sneakers to fit Julius "Dr. J." Erving, who had lost his luggage enroute to NBA exhibition game in Canada.
Too bad my shoe size is only 12!
6: Munching on popcorn with Charles Barkley when he was the real Round Mound of Rebound. At the 1983 Universiade.
5: Having Dominique Wilkins showcase the "Human Highlight" film while landing on top of
me at courtside and then patting me on the head to make sure I was O.K.
4: Losing a bet - $20 - to Larry Bird on how many 3-pointers he could make during warmup.
3: Winning a Manitoba city/provincial high school championship
and making provincial all-star. Also later playing on the blacktops in the USA ala "White Men Can't Jump." (Phillips also reached city or provincial status in four
other sports. "A Jack of All Sports but a Master of None.")
2: Coaching hoops with the last few years focused at the Legion Athletic Camp and with native youth in northern Alberta.
1: When my son was born in 1985, the late great Coach Jack Donohue sent out a letter inviting him to a national tryout camp for
the year 2005.
