Sometimes it takes a little traveling and a whole lot of planning to get where you want to go.

 

Consider the case of West Virginia University senior guard Tarik Phillip, whose journey to Morgantown, West Virginia, for an opportunity to play some Power 5 Conference college basketball first began at Brooklyn College Academy in Brooklyn, New York.

 

Then, it was off to Queen City Prep in Charlotte, North Carolina, as a postgraduate where he got the attention of South Carolina.

 

Things didn’t work out with the Gamecocks, so Tarik was back on an airplane out to Independence, Kansas, to play at Independence Community College.

 

While at Independence, he was finally discovered by West Virginia’s Bob Huggins.

 

Huggins was in Independence one day doing a little player shopping and he asked coach Tony Turner about the guys he had on his roster, eventually getting down to the Ps to Phillip.

 

What can he do, Huggs asked?

 

Can he shoot it?

 

He’s OK, said Turner.

 

Well, can he handle?

 

Yeah, he’s OK.

 

Can he play defense?

 

Yeah, not bad.

 

So, what’s the deal then, said Huggins.

 

Watch whichever team he plays on - it always wins.

 

Well, that was good enough for Bob Huggins, and it turned out West Virginia was good enough for Tarik Phillip.

 

Since Tarik’s arrival in the spring of 2014, it’s not a coincidence that the Mountaineers have enjoyed one of the best three-year runs in school history.

 

And Tarik’s college career took a dramatic turn for the better in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament when his late 3-pointer helped seal an opening-game victory over Buffalo. Two nights later, the Mountaineers upset eighth-ranked Maryland and finished the season with a 25-10 record, ranked 18^th in the country.

 

Last year, it was more of the same with Phillip becoming one of the top bench players in the Big 12 Conference. He averaged 9.3 points per game, hit the go-ahead basket to knock off Kansas State in overtime, and again, helped WVU to the NCAA Tournament and a top 25 national ranking.

 

This year, Phillip has taken on the role of part-time starter as West Virginia continues its run toward another trip to the NCAAs.

 

The Mountaineers have already exceeded 20 victories in the regular season, defeated No. 1 Baylor and No. Kansas at home earlier this year, and have spent the entire season ranked in the top 25.

 

It’s not a coincidence that this has happened with Tarik Phillip wearing his familiar No. 12.

 

Tarik Phillip was looking for a place to play some major college basketball, and West Virginia University was looking for some good players to help it win a lot of games.

 

I’d say it’s worked out pretty well for both parties.