Phil Sellers who help lead Rutgers to the 1976 NCAA Final Four passed away today at the age of 69. Sellers suffered a stroke this past August in which he never recovered.
He is Rutgers all-time leader with 2,399 points and 1,111 rebounds. His jersey was retired back in 1988. He became a second team All-American in 1976 in which his Scarlett Knights squad went undefeated to the final four before falling short to Michigan. Sellers was a star at Thomas Jefferson HS in Brooklyn in which he was first team All-City in 1971 and 1972. He played for the Detroit Pistons for three seasons from 1976-1979.
Phil Sellers was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993.
Dick Vitale quoted on Sellers passing “Phil was the catalyst in our great recruiting class that played a vital factor in Rutgers having fantastic success in the 1970s that led us all the way to the Final Four. Once we were able to get Phil, we were able to get the best player in New Jersey Mike Dabney. Phil was such a fierce competitor, and he was dominant inside and outside. I am so sad to learn of his passing. To me, he is the greatest player in Rutgers hoops history.”
