Sept. 1, 2005

DENVER - Former University of Denver men's basketball player Phil Heath (1998-02) is featured on the cover of this month's Flex Magazine.

When he was a reserve at DU, Heath was listed at 5-foot-9, 185 pounds. Now he's 215 pounds of massive muscle -- and a rising star in body-building. Last month Heath won the title "Mr. USA" at the USA Bodybuilding and Figure championships in Las Vegas.

"I was like many other ballplayers in high school in that I didn't want to lift too hard because I thought it could screw up my game," Heath told Flex.

Heath, 25, won the heavyweight and overall championships at the USA competition. He also won the heavyweight and overall championships at the NPC Junior Nationals held in June. "He's always been well-built," DU men's basketball coach Terry Carroll said. "After he left here he got into weight-training big-time.

"What he really is good at is . . . he's a concert pianist. He's one of the most unbelievable piano players. He can just sit in a hotel lobby and start playing Beethoven's Fifth.

"Now he puts the piano in his back pack."

Heath came to Denver from highly regarded Rainier Beach High School in Seattle. He saw action in 24 of the Pioneers' 27 games his freshman year, providing solid backup minutes for the Pioneers. Heath continued that solid play his sophomore season, seeing action in half of Denver's games. He made his first collegiate start against Brown his junior season, scoring a career-high six points in that game before topping that effort with seven points against Colorado Christian three weeks later. Heath saw action in 12 games during his senior campaign, logging a season-high 12 minutes against Western Kentucky. His tireless work ethic in the weight room has made him the strongest Pioneer, pound-for-pound, on the floor.

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