Current NYC players, coaches, and devout NYC/Big East hoops junkies are well aware of who Rob Phelps Sr. once was.
Whether it is outdated New York Times articles, career stats from his long overseas professional career via Eurobasket, or Youtube clips, there is sufficient and well-chronicled data for anyone willing to do their due diligence.
Phelps left a legacy which reverberated throughout the city during his heyday, a prolific scoring guard who shredded defenses with dead-eye perimeter shooting at Nazareth High School.
During a seemingly unrivaled 1990s period of prosperity in New York City, back when Division-I players were sprinkled across rosters throughout the five boroughs, Phelps was a maniacal scorer.
He submitted a handful of games of seven 3-pointers or more, dialing in from way beyond the confines of the arc.
He averaged 31 points per game as a senior. He erupted for 35 points to lead Nazareth to a signature upset over then nationally ranked Christ The King.
Phelps helped revitalize a previously lackluster East Flatbush program, seizing the ultimate green light under then-coach Ted Gustus.
For his career, Phelps piled up 2,477 points, a number which keeps his name emblazoned in the all time record books.
Phelps was a catch-and-stick threat, a floor spreader during a time when city guards were typically pigeonholed as flashy ball handlers without consistent shot-making in their pedigree.
Phelps would alter that narrative, significantly, etching his name as a pure shooter known for spurring game-changing runs when he seizes the hot hand.
Phelps went on to play at Providence College under Rick Barnes.
Though he was more of a role player and eventually a supplementary double digit scorer as a senior, Phelps forever cemented his legacy with the Friars with one epic performance.
And, he was back near his old stomping grounds of Madison Square Garden for it.
Phelps shot it at a 10-for-11 clip during the 1994 Big East semifinals against UConn, with his 23 points catapulting Providence to a pulsating 69-67 upset.
On a sizzling stage featuring future NBA players such as Ray Allen (UCONN), Kevin Ollie (UConn), Dickey Simpkins (Providence), Austin Croshere (Providence), and others, Phelps morphed into the mad gunslinger.
He drilled 3-pointers. He stuck mid range jumpers amid draping closeouts, with Connecticut defenders draped all over him.
He threw head fakes, finished through hard traffic on one traditional 3-point play. Simply put, Phelps played possessed.
He would later describe it as being “in that zone,” his insatiable thirst for competition driving him every step of the way.
The momentum of being back home, Phelps would say, provided a psychological edge.
Fast forward.
It is 2023. Phelps has established himself as a coach, mentor, and molder of young minds in the classroom at Bedford Academy.
He has been as immersed in NYC basketball as he was a kid, when he garnered his reputation as a binge scorer on courts such as West Fourth Street, Rucker Park, Citywide, and Elmore.
Phelps has become a stern defensive tactician and demanding coach during his time on the sidelines at Bedford.
The now veteran coach’s biggest assignment, however, now transitions him to more of a player development training role.
Phelps’ son, Class of 2025 Christ The King guard Rob Phelps Jr., is now entering his junior year at Christ The King.
Only 15 and having shown glimpses as a polished 6-foot-4 left handed guard, Phelps Jr. is ascending as a promising young prospect.
Make no mistake about it, comparing any current player to the career Phelps
Sr. once authored at Nazareth seems unfair and unrealistic.
Rob Phelps Jr. may not have the monstrous scoring mentality embedded in his bloodstream as his father once did, albeit his versatility and IQ have registered this summer.
A high academic 2025 prospect, Phelps Jr. is coming off a recent slate that included performances at Harvard Elite Camp and Brown Elite camp.
Having filled out and now standing 6-feet-4, Phelps Jr. was a revelation with his play at Harvard camp.
The lefty displayed a fluid outside touch and the ability to put the ball on the deck and orchestrate offense. His identity as a heady, slick passer is beginning to materialize.
With added burst to his game, Phelps Jr. has focused on carving his way into traffic and relishing at the rim contact.
Phelps Jr.’s downhill scoring engine began to show during both aforementioned camps.
With the possibility of another growth spurt for the incoming junior, it is the adequate feel for the which elicits promise.
DAD KNOWS BEST
The grind begins at around 6:30 AM, as both father and son approach a methodical workload.
By the time they arrive at PS11 in Brooklyn, the importance of time and time management becomes abundantly clear.
There is a mindfulness of every drill, a calculated effort to get better in every integral ingredient of the investment.
It starts with stretching and meditation, with Phelps Jr. envisioning the game-like situations and calmly seeing the game come to him.
The time is then devoted to weight lifting, plyometrics, and ball handling. As one would anticipate, there is extra emphasis on shooting.
They simulate game speed while working through an array of mid-range pull-ups.
There is urgency in using the backboard during certain shots, getting a clean look. They launch a fusillade of 3-pointers.
Not just catch and shoot treys, there is emphasis transition 3-pointers, threes off of the move and via cuts, and heavily-contested shots at game speed.
They simulate every shot possible. Everything is done with an urgent rate, with factors such as hostility and hard, constructive criticism coming into play.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Phelps Sr., for all his notoriety gained as a player, did not grow up in an era like this. There were no NIL deals, no alarming transfer rates, no social media posts ushering in transfer rumors by the hour.
There was not the same emphasis on traveling out of the area, or the idea of crossing state lines in effort to drum up more exposure.
And while the current climate of the game may be a wistful portent of how times have changed since Phelps’ heyday, they also demand a player of Rob Jr.’s make-up.
As a crafty lefty who can control an offense and bag 3-pointers, the 6-foot-4 Phelps has relished the multi-positional concept of our current time.
He is able to stretch the floor out, taking bigger defenders outside. When he has a smaller defender on him, Phelps Jr. seizes the mismatch and takes the player to the rim.
He may never be the vaunted bucket-getter his Dad was, but Phelps’ growing passing arsenal at his size could translate as he continues to develop.
And, a steady evolution and commitment to the grind remains…
