ARLINGTON – Having scored more than 1,000 points in the last two seasons alone at the Division-I level and leading Southeast Missouri to the NCAA Tournament, Phillip Russell has penned his commitment to join the UT Arlington men's basketball team, giving new head coach KT Turner another major coup out of the transfer portal.
 
Russell – who will reunite with former Southeast Missouri assistant coach Keith Pickens – averaged 18.1 points, 5.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 34 starts with SEMO last year as a sophomore, knocking down a team-high 82 3-pointers at a 36.1-percent rate and also shooting 80.5 percent from the free throw line.
 
Russell was one of the elite performers last year nationally as he ranked 11th in the country in free throws made (173) and 26th in total assists (174), carrying the Redhawks to their first Ohio Valley Conference Championship in 23 years with four wins in four days – capped by Russell scoring the final seven points of an 89-82 overtime victory in the final against Tennessee Tech.
 
Due in part to that finishing performance, Russell was named to the OVC All-Tournament Team after being named an OVC First Team selection following the regular season in which he led the league in total points (615) and assists, and ranked 2nd in steals (54) and minutes played (1,104).
 
The 5-10, 165-pound explosive guard tied SEMO's D-I single-game scoring record not once, but twice, with a pair of 37-point outbursts in conference action at Morehead State and then again versus Little Rock. Combined with a 30-point outing against Tennessee State, Russell scored 30+ points three times in a three-week stretch from Jan. 14-Feb. 4, not including a 29-point showing at Tennessee Tech. Those showcases resulted in Russell being named OVC Player of the Week on both Jan. 16 and Feb. 6.
 
The St. Louis native scored in double figures every game last season except one – a six-point contest on just 1-4 shooting on Dec. 29 at Southern Indiana – and tallied 20+ points on 11 occasions. He notched a pair of double-doubles, capped by a 15-point, 10-assist, 5-steal act in the NCAA Tournament against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Those 10 assists equaled the Islanders entire team output.
 
"Phillip is a proven winner and a big-time leader," Turner stated of his latest signee. "He can score at all three levels, and he's not afraid to take big shots in crucial moments of a game. Phillip will have a massive impact on our program."
 
In a testament to Turner's comments about Russell taking shots at big times, he scored the 5th most 'clutch' points of any player in the nation last year, tallying 79 in last five minutes of regulation or overtime (leader: 87).
 
Additionally, Russell's 615 points last year were the most in SEMO's single-season D-I history (since 1991-92; 5th most all-time), and the 174 assists were the 4th most in the D-I era (5th most overall).
 
In his first season with SEMO in 2021-22, Russell earned OVC Second Team and OVC All-Newcomer Team honors after ranking 2nd on the team with 13.4 points per game in 30 starts, leading the Redhawks with 95 assists and 37 steals. He was named OVC Freshman of the Week five times: Nov. 29, Dec. 20, Jan. 3, Jan. 24 and Feb. 14.
 
Russell broke SEMO's D-I single-game scoring record by a freshman when he poured in 35 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and collected five steals at SIU Edwardsville on Feb. 7, 2021. Those exploits made him only the second D-I freshman in the previous 25 years to reach 35+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ steals in a game; the other belongs to three-time NBA All-Star and 1st Overall Pick Ben Simmons when he was at LSU in 2015.
 
Russell began his career as a walk-on with Saint Louis during the COVID-impacted 2020-21 campaign, playing in eight games off the bench and registering 17 points.
 
At Vashon High School, he helped lead the Wolverines to a state title his junior season. Vashon was also in the state semifinals his senior year before the tournament was canceled due to COVID. Russell averaged 15.7 points per game en route to claiming all-state honors as a senior, shooting 45 percent from the field and 56.8 percent from 3-point range.
 
Between his two years at SEMO and abbreviated time at SLU, Russell brings 1,036 career points; combined with DaJuan Gordon's 909 points, KT Turner has added 1,945 points at the D-I level with just his two latest backcourt signings. As a team last year, UTA began the season with only 1,215 D-I points combined among 14 players.
 
Russell and Gordon join Georgia Tech transfer and Latvian sharpshooter Freds Pauls Bagatskis as part of Turner's first recruiting class, which is comprised solely of D-I transfers at this juncture.
 
SEASON TICKET DEPOSITS
Season ticket deposits for 2023-24 are already being accepted. With a one-time deposit of only $50/seat, fans can lock in their season ticket(s) to secure a spot in the state-of-the-art College Park Center for KT Turner's first year. For more information and to lock in a deposit, click here.
 
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