Shawn Phillips Jr. is one of Mizzou's most impactful players, but his foul trouble keeps him off the court more than most. Read how his teammates and coach work with his struggles and appreciate his leadership
NASHVILLE — Shawn Phillips Jr. was one of Missouri’s best players Thursday afternoon. He’s also one of the biggest reasons the Tigers lost.
Phillips’ impact on this season’s rendition of Missouri basketball is far from black and white. His up-and-down play, foul trouble, electric dunks and big-time blocks vary his range of performance far and wide.
Those who watched Missouri’s SEC Tournament loss to Kentucky saw the pinnacle of his performances, as both his positive and self-inflicted negative impacts unfolded.
His box score wasn’t abnormal — the starting center posted eight points, eight rebounds, one block and five fouls in 18 minutes of action. He got in foul trouble early, picking up two fouls in the first 2:58 of action, sending himself to the bench quickly. He didn’t check back in the game until there was 13:24 remaining in the half, and picked up his third personal foul just minutes later, returning to the bench at the 10:54 mark.
Phillips was one of two Tigers — and the only big — to post a positive plus-minus in the first half despite Missouri ending the period trailing by nine points. However, he played just five minutes, limiting himself from making an impact and hurting his team in the process.
“There is no doubt in my mind, not having him in the first half impacted the game greatly,” head coach Dennis Gates said.
Phillips finished the game with a positive 10 plus-minus, while his backup, Trent Burns, posted a negative 14 plus-minus. That’s quite a stark 24-point swing. Perhaps the swing could have been less drastic if Phillips had played more than 18 minutes, most of which he starred in.
“When he was on the court, you guys saw the domination,” Gates said. “You guys saw he was behind us emotionally. He was behind us mentally, and he challenged his team in a huddle, and they responded a certain way.”
Phillips’ growth as not only a player, but as a leader, is what makes it excruciating to see him play himself off the court.
Part of the fire that Phillips uses as a leader also bleeds through to how he interacts with opposing teams. One of his five fouls against Kentucky was a technical foul, of which he ranks second in the nation with six on the season.
“Sometimes I get too passionate,” Phillips said. “If I control all of that, then it could definitely be way better for us.”
Finding a solution to that problem isn’t exactly an easy fix, though, according to Gates.
“Do you pull a guy back and say, ‘Don't play with the passion that you're playing with, because everyone else plays the game at a lower passion than you do?’” Gates said. “Or do you let that kid just try to will his team to victory?”
More often than not, it seems like Gates opts not to rein in Phillips and allow him to play with the fire that fuels his game. But the fiery Phillips that outsiders see on the hardwood isn’t always how the veteran operates. He’s emerged as a deeply-spoken leader both in huddles and in the locker room during times of panic and weakness — graduate guard Jayden Stone said Phillips did “most of the talking” after the loss to Kentucky.
If not already, then every following game Missouri plays could be Phillips’ last at the collegiate level, as the senior transfer is out of eligibility after the 2025-26 season. Although he only spent one season at Missouri, the impact he made on Gates exceeds the amount of time they spent together.
“I am absolutely proud of Shawn Phillips — his impact, his leadership,” Gates said. “I am thankful that he chose me as his coach. I am thankful of his teammates accepting who he is as a young man, as a brother, as a peer.”