Like Father Like Son- Paul Pressey & his son Phil Pressey -

Paul Pressey was possibly the best basketball player ever to play for the University of Tulsa; he had a long, successful NBA career. 

The 6'5" Pressey, nicknamed the Rubberband Man, led the Golden Hurricane to the NIT Championship.  The next year, he almost led Tulsa to upset the might Houston Phi Slamma Jamma Cougars in the NCAA Tournament.

Here he is as a Milwaukee Buck, going against Michael Jordan and the Bulls in an NBA Playoff game.

Be sure and check out his rebound over Michael Jordan, and don't miss his no look pass at the 3:44 mark.

Paul Pressey scores 19 points and has 11 first half assists in Playoff Upset of Michael Jordan and the BULLS

I was fortunate to see Paul's son play in high school.  My son Brock played for Holland Hall and the majority of the teams in their league were from Texas.  Phil Pressey was only about 5'7" tall, but could DUNK, shoot and had tremendous ball handling skills.

THEN
Almost two years ago, diminutive Missouri point guard decided he would go to the NBA.
April 10, 2013 ~
Phil Pressey is leaving Missouri for the NBA

“I feel the positives outweigh the negatives,” said Pressey, a 5-foot-11 point guard. 

“Whenever you’re making a decision like this you’re going to have people telling you that you should or shouldn’t do it. But at the end of the day it’s my decision and I talked to enough people to feel confident with my decision.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/04/10/4173368/missouris-phil-pressey-to-enter.html#storylink=cpy

Phil Pressey is leaving Mizzou

Players who declare have until April 16 to withdraw and retain their NCAA eligibility, but Pressey’s decision to hire Creative Artists Agency effectively shut the door on a possible return to Missouri, where he endured a roller-coaster junior season marked by spectacular highs and disappointing lows.

“I’m firm with my decision and I’m just ready to get things underway and start preparing,” Pressey said. “It’s not really a ‘testing-the-water’ situation for me. I know my decision, I’m ready.”

NOW
FAST FORWARD TO MARCH 13, 2015 

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens on Phil Pressey:

RE: Phil Pressey's performance off the bench:

I thought one of our best defenders on the floor, and the guy who spearheaded the whole night, was Phil Pressey. Evan (Turner) carried us in with his scoring; Phil Pressey’s defense was huge and Phil Pressey getting out on the break was huge. And then his ability to get to the foul line, break people down at the dribble, get to the rim a couple times when we’d got nothing going was huge. And I just credited him in our locker room; he didn’t play for a month. But he was a pro, and we’ve talked about that with him all the time, but usually he’s gotten a chance to play. But him responding and just being ready is a real testament to Phil.

RE: How Pressey stayed focused after not playing much recently:

I don’t think it’s hard for these guys to stay focused; I think it’s hard not to get down. And correlated with that is, your confidence can drop. So I had a talk with Phil about three weeks ago and just said, you know,  right after Isaiah (Thomas) came it’s pretty obvious he’s not going to play as much, right? When Isaiah’s healthy? But Phil – and I told him this – he’s a really valued member of our team. Like, in our organization. He works the right way, if he doesn’t play he’s the loudest guy on the bench, and if he does play he’s an energizer. And he’s not going to play perfect, but nobody is, and if you can sustain that and not get down and be confident there’s always a role for him. And that’s a great compliment. 

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/04/10/4173368/missouris-phil-pressey-to-enter.html#storylink=cpy