Jim Phelan, who coached Mount St. Mary’s basketball for 49 years, dies at 92

A Philadelphia native, Phelan starred on La Salle’s basketball team before coming to the Mount in 1954.

I thought about how fortunate I am to coach at the place that Coach Phelan built and grateful that he built it on family.

“I had been here five or six years, and my name came up for the job,” he said.

“He taught me how to shoot the ball, he taught me discipline, he taught me about life itself,” former Mount St.

Shortly after seeing Carter play in Philadelphia, Phelan talked him into leaving the big city for Emmitsburg.

“When the players first get here, they seem to regard me as a dinosaur, a fossil,” Phelan said.

“For 49 seasons, Coach Phelan formed student-athletes who embodied the Mount’s mission statement by having a passion for learning, being ethical leaders and serving God and others,” Mount St.

…Read the full story