UC Irvine Basketball Team Gets Verbal Commitment From Phillips

Arthur Phillips, a 6-foot 10-inch, 210-pound senior at Murphy High School in Los Angeles, made a verbal commitment Sunday to attend UC Irvine on a basketball scholarship.

Phillips averaged 14 points, 10 rebounds and 12 blocked shots a game last season while leading Murphy to the Santa Fe League championship and a 12-0 league record. He had narrowed his choices to Oregon State, Santa Clara, New Mexico and Irvine. He will sign a national letter of intent with the Anteaters on Nov. 13.

Murphy was eliminated in the second round of the Los Angeles City Section 2-A playoffs by Nordhoff last winter. Phillips, a center, hopes to play power forward at Irvine.