Saul Phillips enters his sixth year at the helm in the fall of 2024, as the 22nd head men's basketball coach in program history. Phillips came to Northern State after Division I head coaching stops at North Dakota State University and Ohio University. He is just the sixth head coach for the Wolves since 1946.
Northern went 10-19 overall and 8-14 in the NSIC in 2023-24. Jacksen Moni and Josh Dilling were named to the Northern Sun All-Conference teams, and the pair along with Augustin Reede hit the 1000 career point milestones. Moni and Dilling capped of the season on the NABC All-District team (Moni) and CSC Academic All-District team (Dilling).
The Wolves returned to their position atop the NSIC in 2022-23 going 24-7 overall and 19-3 in the league. They qualified for their 15
th NCAA postseason appearance as the second seed in the NCAA Central Region. The Wolves won the regular season NSIC Championship, their fifth in the last six seasons and Phillips garnered NSIC Coach of the Year honors, surpassing the 300 career win mark.
The postseason accolades were numerous for the program and kicked off with Sam Masten, Jacksen Moni, and Jordan Belka named to the NSIC All-Conference teams. Masten was named the North Division Player of the Year and went on to tally All-District honors from the D2CCA and NABC, as well as All-America awards. In addition, Belka and Masten recorded CSC Academic All-District® distinctions and Masten earned his way on to the Academic All-America® team. Belka capped off his award season as the NSIC/Bob Olson Outstanding Senior of the Year.
Northern State went 20-12 overall and 13-9 in the NSIC in the 2021-22 season. The Wolves season ended in the quarterfinal round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament. The trio of Sam Masten, Jordan Belka, and Jacksen Moni were named to the NSIC All-Conference second team for the Wolves
Following the post-season cancellation of the 2020 season, Phillips and the Wolves picked up right where they left off in 2021. Northern went 19-2 overall en route to their fourth straight NSIC North Division and NSIC Tournament Championships (overall champion was not award). In addition, NSU earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Central Region and played host, reaching the regional championship contest. The Wolves ultimately fell to the 2021 National Champions, Northwest Missouri State. Phillips was named the NSIC North Division Coach of the Year, while Parker Fox, Andrew Kallman, Mason Stark, and Tommy Chatman were named to the All-Conference teams. Fox was both the North Division Overall and Defensive Player of the Year. The junior duo of Fox and Stark were named to the All-Region teams and Fox went on to be the program's first NABC All-American since 2009.
Northern did not miss a beat in Phillips first season at the helm (2019-20), winning their third straight NSIC Overall and Tournament Championships with a 26-6 record. NSU earned a berth in the NCAA Central Region Tournament as the fourth seed, with their NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament Championships over Minnesota State. Three Wolves earned NSIC All-Conference honors (Fox, King, Stark), with Parker Fox being named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Fox earned All-Region accolades from both the D2CCA and NABC.
Phillips spent the previous five seasons at Ohio University and seven at North Dakota State. He went 81-77 overall leading the Bobcats and 134-84 with the Bison. Phillips will look to continue the strong tradition of Northern State basketball, as the Wolves have won back-to-back NSIC Conference Championships and are the NCAA Division II National Attendance leaders for the last 11 seasons, averaging well over 3,000 fans per game.
Phillips led the Ohio University Bobcats to the CBI semifinal round in his tenure with the program. OU saw 11 all-conference performances in five seasons under Phillips including one MAC Player of the Year honor (Antonio Campbell) and one MAC Freshman of the Year award (Jordan Dartis). Jaaron Simmons broke the single season Ohio University and MAC assist records in 2015-16, dishing out 275 on the year. Campbell was an Associated Press All-America selection following a stellar 2015-16 campaign, where the Bobcats tallied their best season under Phillips going 23-12 overall.
In his seven seasons at North Dakota State, Phillips led the Bison to two Summit League Championships, two Summit League Tournament Championships, and two appearances in the NCAA Tournament. A total of 14 Bison earned all-conference accolades in his seven seasons, while four were named to the NABC All-District team and two tallied All-American accolades.
Phillips directed NDSU to their first Summit League crown and NCAA Division I Championship appearance in 2009; he was named the Summit League Coach of the Year and was one of ten finalists for the Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year award. Senior Ben Woodside received Summit League Player of the Year honors that season, the first in NDSU program history. The 2013-14 campaign brought similar honors for the program winning their second Summit League Championship and a berth to the NCAA Tournament. In addition to being named the league coach of the year, senior Taylor Braun earned the league player of the year award.
The Bison advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament in his final season with the program, posting a 26-7 record overall, and 12-2 mark in Summit League action. The No. 12-seeded Bison knocked off No. 5-seeded Oklahoma in overtime, 80-75 in the Second Round. He left his legacy on the program as the fourth winningest coach in school history.
Phillips began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at NSIC counterpart Wayne State College as a member of Greg McDermott’s staff. From there he made assistant coaching stops at Lake Superior and Milwaukee, before taking the Director of Basketball Operations post at Wisconsin. With the Badgers, Phillips handled the day-to-day scheduling, coordinated travel, budgeting and on-campus recruiting for Bo Ryan's staff. Phillips then joined former Northern State assistant, Tim Miles as an assistant at NDSU. He spent three years on Miles’ staff before being elevated into his first head-coaching role in 2007.
A native of Reedsburg, Wis., Phillips graduated from Wisconsin-Platteville with a degree in business and psychology in 1996. He played basketball for four seasons at UWP under Bo Ryan and was captain of the Pioneers’ undefeated national championship team in 1995.
Phillips and his wife, Nicole, have one daughter, Jordan, and two sons, Charlie and Benjamin.
The Phillips File
- Head Coaching Stops: North Dakota State (134-84), Ohio University (81-77), Northern State
- Assistant Coaching Stops: Wayne State, Lake Superior, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, North Dakota State
- Eight 20-plus win seasons (3 - NDSU, 2 - Ohio, 3 - NSU)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 5 (2009 & 2014 - NDSU; 2020, 2021, 2023 - NSU)
- CBI Appearances: 2 (2013 - NDSU, 2016 - Ohio)
- 2009 & 2014 Summit League Coach of the Year
- 2021 NSIC North Division Coach of the Year
- 2023 NSIC Coach of the Year
- 2009 & 2014 Summit League Conference Championships
- 2009 & 2014 Summit League Tournament Championships
- 2019-20, 2022-23 NSIC Champions
- 2021 NSIC North Division Champions
- 2020 & 2021 NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament Champions
- 2009 finalist for the Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year award (NDSU)
- 38 All-Conference performers (11 - Ohio, 14 - NDSU, 13 - NSU)
- 7 Conference Players of the Year (including 1 freshman of the year)
- 11 All-District selections
- 5 NABC All-American honorees
| Saul Phillips Year-by-Year |
|
|
Overall |
Conference |
|
| Year |
School |
W |
L |
W |
L |
Finish |
| 2007-14 |
North Dakota State |
134 |
84 |
|
|
|
| 2014-19 |
Ohio University |
81 |
77 |
|
|
|
| 2019-20 |
Northern State |
26 |
6 |
18 |
4 |
1st |
| 2021 |
Northern State |
19 |
2 |
13 |
1 |
1st |
| 2021-22 |
Northern State |
20 |
12 |
13 |
9 |
5th |
| 2022-23 |
Northern State |
24 |
7 |
19 |
3 |
1st |
| 2023-24 |
Northern State |
10 |
19 |
8 |
14 |
11th |
| Total |
|
314 |
207 |
71 |
31 |
|
