He’s had health issues and needs our help. Politi wrote a terrific story this morning.
Phil Sellers GoFundMe
- Thread starter rutgersal_rivals139582
- Start date
why would Rutgers fund this?
Hard to fathom Phil Sellers' situation. So sad. I contributed also.
Rutgers has trouble funding Rutgers, there's no chance they would fund something like this.
I just posted the following on LinkedIn, because I do not have much of a social media presence otherwise:
Dear Friends, One of the thrills of my life was being able to watch Phil Sellers play basketball during my 4 years at Rutgers. He is the G.O.A.T. of Rutgers Basketball and perhaps the most important figure in Rutgers athletics history. Phil has had some serious health issues lately and could use some help with his bills. I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to consider helping Phil recover financially through the link below. I would also encourage you to check out Phil's history if you would. Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger/ nj.com has recently penned a nice article on Phil. Phil was, no, is, the best!! Get better, Phil! Thank you all for your time. Sincerely, runrutgersrun
https://lnkd.in/e89fW4k8
Dear Friends, One of the thrills of my life was being able to watch Phil Sellers play basketball during my 4 years at Rutgers. He is the G.O.A.T. of Rutgers Basketball and perhaps the most important figure in Rutgers athletics history. Phil has had some serious health issues lately and could use some help with his bills. I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to consider helping Phil recover financially through the link below. I would also encourage you to check out Phil's history if you would. Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger/ nj.com has recently penned a nice article on Phil. Phil was, no, is, the best!! Get better, Phil! Thank you all for your time. Sincerely, runrutgersrun
https://lnkd.in/e89fW4k8
The only thing I would add is a link to the go fund me page. Nice job.
You can see the donors on the GoFundMe site. Familiar names abound:
Perry, James, Weiler, Hefele, Dadika, Vitale, Dabney, Rebholz, Remley, Jordan, Madlinger, Palko, Lesniak, Scherer, Bannon...
Hopefully, some (or all!) of those names and all the other donors, named and unnamed, will bring a smile to Phil's face and strength to his heart. Keep on RU Nation, one of our best needs a little help!!! GO RU! GO Phill!!!!
Perry, James, Weiler, Hefele, Dadika, Vitale, Dabney, Rebholz, Remley, Jordan, Madlinger, Palko, Lesniak, Scherer, Bannon...
Hopefully, some (or all!) of those names and all the other donors, named and unnamed, will bring a smile to Phil's face and strength to his heart. Keep on RU Nation, one of our best needs a little help!!! GO RU! GO Phill!!!!
It is nice to see that the Pikiells were added to that list
The Pikiells do have a lot of class. When I think of the world Steve has to navigate now as a coach, just imagine how much NIL money Phil Sellers would have commanded coming out of high school and starting his college career!! He was THAT big of a deal coming out of high school. Phil's story would make a pretty good movie. A lot of tough times in there. As brash as he seemed at times as a young man, he always seemed to have some insecurities. Later, he never seemed to just throw in the towel or complain about things when he wasn't the star any longer. Great, great college basketball player that I don't feel was ever fully appreciated, even by Rutgers fans. A kid from a really tough neighborhood and childhood...he came to a school with no previous stars of his magnitude, no road map of how to behave. Yet there were never any reports of him being difficult, no scandalous or crazy behavior. After Rutgers, he just seemed to become part of the working world, he never became consumed by drinking or drugs because his basketball career didn't last. I would never tell people how to spend their money - but I would ask anyone, especially the younger fans, to consider helping Phil out right now. He WAS the Pandemonium in New Brunswick--1976 was magnificent!! On a given day, I can make a pretty good case, that Phil is the Godfather, Grandfather and Greatest Individual of All Rutgers sports history. For Scarlet Nation, this is a great opportunity for us to show our colors and help one of our own when we seem to be needed the most. Thank you for listening to this dinner-time bump! Sorry for such a lengthy bump...always have had a little trouble keeping things short when talking Sellers. GO RU! GO PHIL!
An early morning bump! I usually don't advocate reading Star-Ledger/nj.com articles anymore, but if you need just that little bit of extra incentive to help out to Phil through your keyboard and donate, I have to admit Politi outdid himself with his recent Phil article. Even if you just read the final paragraph:
"Sellers once elevated the entire university when he proved Rutgers could reach the highest level of college sports. Now, it’s up to Rutgers to give him a much-needed lift."
Truer words have never been spoken by the Star-Ledger/nj.com
!
Go Scarlet Nation! Go RU! Go Phil!
"Sellers once elevated the entire university when he proved Rutgers could reach the highest level of college sports. Now, it’s up to Rutgers to give him a much-needed lift."
Truer words have never been spoken by the Star-Ledger/nj.com
!Go Scarlet Nation! Go RU! Go Phil!
83K out of a 150K Goal in three days. Pretty impressive.An early morning bump! I usually don't advocate reading Star-Ledger/nj.com articles anymore, but if you need just that little bit of extra incentive to help out to Phil through your keyboard and donate, I have to admit Politi outdid himself with his recent Phil article. Even if you just read the final paragraph:
"Sellers once elevated the entire university when he proved Rutgers could reach the highest level of college sports. Now, it’s up to Rutgers to give him a much-needed lift."
Truer words have never been spoken by the Star-Ledger/nj.com
Go Scarlet Nation! Go RU! Go Phil!
$120 to honor our retired #12 who needs our help
RUTGERS MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTSEASON HISTORY consists of a total of 23 appearances over 56 years (15 NIT and 8 NCAA tournaments). I had done most of this little bit of RU research below for ‘fun’ some time ago...even I was a little shocked by RU’s futility when it stared right back at me from the typed page. Phil was the catalyst of four postseason trips in his four years on The Banks. He was the reason for 25% of RU’s NCAA appearances over 50+ years!! Which 4-year period in 56 years doesn’t belong, and why lol? There were only two NIT appearances before Phil arrived in 1972. There had been no postseason at all in the three seasons immediately before he arrived. Rutgers was just Rutgers-ing before he arrived. He brought A LOT when he came to New Brunswick. In the first two years after he left, there were only NIT appearances. This ends my evening bump. Please, let’s all help Phil out, if you can. GO PHIL! GO RU! Thank you for listening to my rants 
!
National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 15 times. Rutgers combined record is 16–15.
The Scarlet Knights have appeared in the NCAA tournament eight times. RU’s combined record is 6–9.
Phil Sellers’ time at Rutgers
!National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 15 times. Rutgers combined record is 16–15.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1967 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd Place Game | Utah State New Mexico Southern Illinois Marshall | W 78–76 W 65–60 L 70–79 W 93–76 |
| 1969 | First Round | Tennessee | L 51–67 |
| 1973 | First Round | Minnesota | L 59–68 |
| 1974 | First Round | Utah | L 89–102 |
| 1977 | First Round | St. Bonaventure | L 77–79 |
| 1978 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd Place Game | Army Indiana State Texas Georgetown | W 72–70 W 57–56 L 76–96 W 85–72 |
| 1982 | First Round Second Round | Iona Purdue | W 55–51 L 65–98 |
| 1990 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | Holy Cross Fordham Penn State | W 87–78 W 81–74 L 55–58 |
| 1992 | First Round Second Round | James Madison Manhattan | W 73–69 L 61–62 |
| 1999 | First Round Second Round | Hofstra Clemson | W 58–45 L 68–78 |
| 2000 | First Round | Kent State | L 62–73 |
| 2002 | First Round | Yale | L 65–67 |
| 2004 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final | Temple West Virginia Villanova Iowa State Michigan | W 76–71 W 67–64 W 72–60 W 84–81 L 55–62 |
| 2006 | Opening Round First Round | Penn State Saint Joseph's | W 76–71 L 62–71 |
| 2023 | First Round | Hofstra | L 86-88OT |
The Scarlet Knights have appeared in the NCAA tournament eight times. RU’s combined record is 6–9.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1975 | First Round | Louisville | L 78–91 | |
| 1976 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National 3rd Place Game | Princeton Connecticut VMI Michigan UCLA | W 54–53 W 93–79 W 91–75 L 70–86 L 92–106 | |
| 1979 | #6 | Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #3 Georgetown #10 St. John's | W 64–58 L 65–67 |
| 1983 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8 Southwest Louisiana #1 St. John's | W 60–53 L 55–66 |
| 1989 | #13 | First Round | #4 Iowa | L 73–87 |
| 1991 | #9 | First Round | #8 Arizona State | L 76–79 |
| 2021 | #10 | First Round Second Round | #7 Clemson #2 Houston | W 60–56 L 60–63 |
| 2022 | #11 | First Four | #11 Notre Dame | L 87–89 2OT |
Phil Sellers’ time at Rutgers
Bump. I went to my first Rutgers B-ball game live second semester in 1973. Our last game was set up to be a play-in game for the NIT. The Barn was rocking. We sat at the end of the court. We had some really good plyers like Gene Armstead and John Somogyi. About 4-5 minutes into the game, Phil came roaring down the baseline to follow up somebody's missed shot...whoa!!!! You could see the difference between Phil and Gene...and any of the big's PSU had on the floor. PHIL WAS A FRESHMAN!!! Everyone else looked like they were glued to the floor! A friend and I looked at each other and said, "Welcome to The Barn, Penn State....you're not in Kansas anymore lol". We romped. With a couple minutes left in the game, the cheerleaders ran out and spelled out N-I-T laying on the floor. The place went nuts...I was hooked, too. Phil could be electrifying and was/is unforgettable. Easy decision to donate, for sure. Let's all help out with Phil's issues. Think I will do so and donate again this morning. Thank you for the memories and get better, Phil! Go RU!!
Bump. Ironically, Phil was perhaps the only gift Rutgers has ever received from Notre Dame lol! He was supposedly going to ND, he changed his mind, late in the recruiting process, as I recall. There were probably not a million ratings back then but Phil Sellers was a Street @ Smith's AA, Parade HS All America and Dapper Dan Basketball All-Star Game MVP. First time I ever read the phrase "a man among boys" was in an article about Phil in the Dapper Dan All Star game.
Found this on THE All Star game that Phil played in after his senior year in HS in front of 13,000 fans....hope the link works (never a given with me lol):
Roundball Classic - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
The Roundball Classic, originally known as The Dapper Dan Roundball Classic (also known as Magic Johnson's Roundball, Sonny Vaccaro's Roundball Classic, EA Sports Roundball Classic, Asics Roundball Classic) is well known in the sports world as the first national high school All Star basketball game.[1][2][3] It was sponsored by and used as a fundraising event for the Dapper Dan Charities in Pittsburgh. The inaugural game was played at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 26, 1965.
After the game two MVPs were named: one for the Pennsylvania team and one for the U.S. team. In 1979 and 1986 three U.S. selections played (East, Midwest and Southwest in 1979; East, South and North in 1986).[71][54]
Go Phil! Go RU!
Found this on THE All Star game that Phil played in after his senior year in HS in front of 13,000 fans....hope the link works (never a given with me lol):
Roundball Classic - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
The Roundball Classic, originally known as The Dapper Dan Roundball Classic (also known as Magic Johnson's Roundball, Sonny Vaccaro's Roundball Classic, EA Sports Roundball Classic, Asics Roundball Classic) is well known in the sports world as the first national high school All Star basketball game.[1][2][3] It was sponsored by and used as a fundraising event for the Dapper Dan Charities in Pittsburgh. The inaugural game was played at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 26, 1965.
| 1972 | U.S. 97, Pennsylvania 88 | 13,207[35] |
After the game two MVPs were named: one for the Pennsylvania team and one for the U.S. team. In 1979 and 1986 three U.S. selections played (East, Midwest and Southwest in 1979; East, South and North in 1986).[71][54]
Year | Team | Player | High School (state) |
| 1965 | Pennsylvania | Simmie Hill | Midland |
| United States | Bernie Williams | DeMatha Catholic (MD) | |
| 1966 | Pennsylvania | Sam Iacino | Farrell |
| United States | Calvin Murphy | Norwalk (CT) | |
| 1967 | Pennsylvania | Dick DeVenzio | Ambridge |
| United States | Jim McDaniels | Allen County (KY) | |
| 1968 | Pennsylvania | Dennis Wuycik | Ambridge |
| United States | Tom Riker | Saint Dominic (NY) | |
| 1969 | Pennsylvania | Mark Gianfrancesco | Wilkinsburg |
| United States | Nick Weatherspoon | Canton McKinley (OH) | |
| 1970 | Pennsylvania | Tom McMillen | Mansfield |
| United States | Dwight Jones | Wheatley (TX) | |
| 1971 | Pennsylvania | Jimmie Baker | Olney |
| United States | Campy Russell | Pontiac Central (MI) | |
| 1972 | Pennsylvania | Joe Bryant | John Bartram |
| United States | Phil Sellers | Thomas Jefferson (NY) |
Go Phil! Go RU!
$98k
Great to see Abdel Anderson and Sue Wicks on the list of donations.
Great to see Abdel Anderson and Sue Wicks on the list of donations.
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I see Jeff Kleinbaum donating today. I believe Jeff is one of the most frequently interviewed people in the program on the '76 Team that airs on B1G. Jeff sounds like those memories are from yesterday and he remembers RU and his teammates fondly (as we all do!). We're at $99.6k in donations tonight. Phil's teams use to go over 100 quite a bit...hopefully tonight we also get the donations over 100 on the way to 150k goal in donations. Go Scarlet Nation! Go Phil! Go RU!
Bump. We reached 100K overnight! Please continue to help if you can. And, as Loyal_2RU had very intelligently pointed out in another thread, please share in your networks. This is one of the few times in my life where I regret being a bit of a hermit, not having much of a social media presence to help spread the word about Phil's issues. I wish I was a whiz at social media like so many of you folks are on this board! Go Scarlet Nation! Go RU! Go Phil!
We reached $101,245 in donations last night!!!
I came across this quote in an old Phil article:
“When he was 14, playing in a junior high school basketball clinic, Sellers and the other players were asked to dribble to the basket and shoot layups. He dunked the ball, recalled Jerry Wichern, his coach at Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn. Sellers, as a freshman, was 6 feet tall and placed on the varsity.”
Just think, Phil and the Rutgers 76’ers might have been the Doctors of Dunk before Louisville’s team...if that Rutgers team just had not had the misfortune of playing all 4 years under the dunk ban! The Barn would have lost more than paint chips if those teams (Sellers, Bailey, Copeland, Dabney, etc.) had been allowed to dunk; the roof would have come off completely!!!
Get well soon, Phil! GO RU! GO Scarlet Nation!
I came across this quote in an old Phil article:
“When he was 14, playing in a junior high school basketball clinic, Sellers and the other players were asked to dribble to the basket and shoot layups. He dunked the ball, recalled Jerry Wichern, his coach at Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn. Sellers, as a freshman, was 6 feet tall and placed on the varsity.”
Just think, Phil and the Rutgers 76’ers might have been the Doctors of Dunk before Louisville’s team...if that Rutgers team just had not had the misfortune of playing all 4 years under the dunk ban! The Barn would have lost more than paint chips if those teams (Sellers, Bailey, Copeland, Dabney, etc.) had been allowed to dunk; the roof would have come off completely!!!
Get well soon, Phil! GO RU! GO Scarlet Nation!
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how this isn't 12 pages or more yet is ridiculous. Give even $5 you cheap fks!
Phil is a great guy, absolutely loves Rutgers, tells some great stories of his recruiting, the team, etc etc....
Open up and pony up people.
Phil is a great guy, absolutely loves Rutgers, tells some great stories of his recruiting, the team, etc etc....
Open up and pony up people.
Interesting that you said that! I came across an article quoting Digger Phelps @ ND after Phil had made an initial verbal commitment to Notre Dame. Digger offered that he felt that Phil had a pretty good outside shot and would be able to help the Irish with their outside shooting. I was never sure about the 1976 team's ability to hit 3-pointers because the opportunity was not there anyway (no 3-pointers yet). I had heard that Dip was a pretty good shooter, but it was not a subject that came up back then because it was a moot point. As for Phil, Tom Young as too good a coach to encourage his best rebounder to wander around too far away from the boards! GO RU!
This ^^^...please help with whatever you can for a great one! GO SCARLET NATION!
My most vivid memory of Phil Sellers is Bailey's freshman year in November. We got to the ticket office at 4am most mornings to get good seats and were in the second row on the left wing when Bailey threw one down. Sellers roared a big "YEAH" at JB and Bailey had this "who me?" look on his face. Priceless.
Sellers was a great leader.
Sellers was a great leader.
Great story! Did they give JB a technical? Sellers must have been majorly tempted to dunk over his 4 years, but I don't recall if he ever did. Phil was indeed a great leader. Tom Young used to allow people into the practices when he was a HC. The team was working on breaking the press one practice and a sub (I think it was Rendell Bradley) was doing a little too good a job pressing the starters! Thought Phil was going to deck the kid...but there was no fight, no punches (very close, though!). Phil probably understood the kid's intensity! Phil brought it every day, even in practice. GO RUTGERS! GO PHIL!
Kleinbaum taught me high school economics.
LOL...Jeff kinda has the look of a HS Economics teacher in that B1G show about the '76 team! He was a pretty darn good player/reserve on what turned out to be some really good Rutgers teams. Go Jeff! GO RU! GO SCARLET Nation! GO PHIL!!!!
We’re up to $102,775 in donations this morning!
One of the posters in the GoFundMe site posted much more eloquently than I have been able to (I hope the poster does not mind my borrowing of these words) :
“As a freshman at Rutgers College in the magical year of 1975-76, No. 12 from Brooklyn quarterbacked a great group of talented players such as "Fast" Eddie Jordan, Mike Dabney, James (King James!) Bailey, etc. They put NJ's state university on the national map and gave all us students and alumni oodles of joy and excitement. Now, struggling with health issues, it's the least I could do to help a brother out, and I hope many of you will be inspired to follow suit. I still follow Rutgers hoops (and football) loyally and hold out hope for a national title some day. But regardless, no Rutgers fan can or will ever forget a team that went undefeated, 31-0, until the Final Four that March of 1976. When they completed the regular season feat, I may or may not have been seen hanging from a window of Olde Queens, the beautiful pre-Revolutionary administrative building that is the heart of the New Brunswick campus. I can neither confirm nor deny the verity of this alleged sighting.”
Hopefully, people will find the time and wherewithal this weekend to continue to ‘help a brother out’. This one seems like a marathon, not a sprint, and we at Scarlet Nation should be used to such battles! GO RU! GO Phil!
Former Rutgers President Dr. Edward J. Bloustein, said of Sellers that he "epitomized and symbolized in ways that people who gain the public eye sometimes do, a movement at Rutgers toward quality and self-assurance. He helped instill a sense of confidence in the university that persists today."
One of the posters in the GoFundMe site posted much more eloquently than I have been able to (I hope the poster does not mind my borrowing of these words) :
“As a freshman at Rutgers College in the magical year of 1975-76, No. 12 from Brooklyn quarterbacked a great group of talented players such as "Fast" Eddie Jordan, Mike Dabney, James (King James!) Bailey, etc. They put NJ's state university on the national map and gave all us students and alumni oodles of joy and excitement. Now, struggling with health issues, it's the least I could do to help a brother out, and I hope many of you will be inspired to follow suit. I still follow Rutgers hoops (and football) loyally and hold out hope for a national title some day. But regardless, no Rutgers fan can or will ever forget a team that went undefeated, 31-0, until the Final Four that March of 1976. When they completed the regular season feat, I may or may not have been seen hanging from a window of Olde Queens, the beautiful pre-Revolutionary administrative building that is the heart of the New Brunswick campus. I can neither confirm nor deny the verity of this alleged sighting.”
Hopefully, people will find the time and wherewithal this weekend to continue to ‘help a brother out’. This one seems like a marathon, not a sprint, and we at Scarlet Nation should be used to such battles! GO RU! GO Phil!
Former Rutgers President Dr. Edward J. Bloustein, said of Sellers that he "epitomized and symbolized in ways that people who gain the public eye sometimes do, a movement at Rutgers toward quality and self-assurance. He helped instill a sense of confidence in the university that persists today."