Long Island University

Derrick Phelps joined the LIU staff in the summer of 2024.

Phelps arrives to LIU from Marist, where he was an assistant coach. Phelps helped the Red Foxes to an 18-13 record and 12-8 in conference play.  

Prior to Marist, Phelps coached at Washington State, where he was an assistant from 2019-22. He helped the Cougars reach the semifinals of the 2022 NIT.

Phelps worked as associate head coach at San Francisco from 2016-19. He assisted in the development of Frankie Ferrari and Jamaree Bouyea, who were both two-time all-WCC selections and went on to play professionally. The Dons reached the 20-win mark in each year of Phelps' tenure.

Before coaching on the west coast, Phelps was the associate head coach at Columbia from 2014-16, where he helped lead the Lions to the College Insider Tournament (CIT) championship in 2016.

Phelps was a special assistant at Monmouth to head coach King Rice. He previously was an assistant coach for the Hawks from 2011-14, where he aided in the development of Justin Robinson, who would become a 2,000-point scorer and two-time MAAC Player of the Year.

Phelps held his first coaching position at his alma mater, Christ the King High School in Queens. He held that position from 2007-09 before becoming a player-coach for Clubul Sportiv Gaz Metan in Romania. Phelps then became the video coordinator at Fordham for the 2010-11 season. 

As a student-athlete, Phelps led Christ the King to the New York State Championship in 1989 and in 1990 was named a McDonald's All-American.

Phelps' collegiate career at North Carolina spanned from 1990-94. He was a three-year starter for the Tar Heels, appearing in 134 games. North Carolina reached the Final Four in both 1991 and 1993, when the Tar Heels won the national championship. He is the only player ACC history to record 600 assists, 400 rebounds, and 200 steals in his career. 

Professionally, Phelps played for the Sacramento Kings in 1995 and was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1995 NBA expansion draft. He continued to play professionally overseas from 1996-2010 in Germany, France, Netherlands, Russia and Romania. While playing for Alba Berlin, he won championships in Germany in 2001 and 2002, and was named the Basketball Bundesliga Most Valuable Player in 2001.