Phil Spence
Phil Spence (born March 13, 1954) is a retired American basketball player and coach. He was a key contributor on the 1974 North Carolina State Wolfpack national championship team and later was an accomplished high school and college head coach.
A 6'8 forward born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Spence starred at Broughton High School in Raleigh and was recruited to and played for Junior College power Vincennes. He then transferred to NC State in time to become a key reserve on their National Championship team. Spence was the first player off the bench and averaged 6.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore as the Wolfpack went 30-1 and broke UCLA's string of seven straight titles. Spence started the next two seasons at NCSU, averaging 13.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game as a junior and 14.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game as a senior.[1]
Spence was drafted in the 6th round of the 1976 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks (92nd pick overall), however he did not make the final roster.[2]
Following the conclusion of his basketball career, Spence turned to coaching. After a brief stint as a volunteer assistant at Broughton High, he spent 10 years (1979–1989) coaching junior varsity and varsity basketball at Cary High School, then the next ten years as head boy's coach at East Wake High School in Raleigh. On July 14, 2000, Spence was named head coach of North Carolina Central University, replacing Greg Jackson.[3]
Spence coached at NC Central through the 2003-04 season.
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