Bond, Phillip Damone "Phil"
(born: 1954)Phil Bond, born in Paducah, KY, was a 6'2", left handed, point guard and a very good student. He graduated third in the 1972 Class at Manual High School in Louisville, KY; his family had moved to Louisville when Bond was 6 years old. From 1972-1977, he was a point guard on the University of Louisville (U of L) basketball team [Bond was out the 1973-74 season with mononucleosis]. He was the first freshman to play at U of L after the NCAA gave the go-ahead to freshmen; previously, freshmen ball players were regulated to the freshmen team their first year. In 1975, the U of L team was in the NCAA Final Four. Bond, the team's starting guard, was voted Most Valuable Player in the 1975 Midwest Regional. He is credited with naming his team the "Doctors of Dunk." In 1975, Bond also played for the U.S. Pan American team that won a gold medal in Mexico City, Mexico. The following year, he was selected an All-American, Academic All-American, and he held the U of L record of 14 assists in one game. Bond is second in the school history of career assists with 528. He was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 3rd round of the 1977 NBA Draft. After playing in seven NBA games, Phil Bond was released due to the NBA's labor dispute during the 1977-78 season. Bond left professional basketball, returned to U of L and finished his accounting degree, and in 1983, became the chief financial officer with the Metro United Way in Louisville, KY. In 2007, Manual High School retired Phil Bond's high school jersey. For more see H. C. Ray, "What's up with...? Phil Bond," Louisville Courier-Journal, 03/01/2001, p.E.1; and Phil Bond in Basketball-Reference.com.