`Always in my heart'

Sporting News, The, Jan 15, 2001 by John Delong

A year after the death of Bobby Phills, Hornets guard David Wesley continues to deal with the loss of his best friend and teammate

For David Wesley, the memories will linger. Always.

It has been a year since Bobby Phills, Wesley's best friend and backcourt mate with the Charlotte Hornets, died in an automobile accident as the two were driving home from a morning shootaround on January 12.

The two were speeding up Tyvola Road--speeding, not racing, Wesley continues to stress--when Phills lost control of his Porsche and skidded into oncoming traffic, dying on impact.

"There hasn't been a day that I haven't thought about him and relived that accident," Wesley says. "He is always in my heart."

Phills was popular with teammates, opponents and fans, but no one outside his family felt his loss more than Wesley. There still are days when Wesley picks up the telephone and calls the number that was Phills' cell phone just to hear his best friend's recorded voice on the other end.

But don't think that Wesley continues to live in the past, or that he remains overburdened by grief or guilt.

To the contrary, Wesley is proof that time helps heal all wounds. He no longer allows himself to dwell on the crash. He has refused to wallow in the emotional pain and torment that initially haunted him. He has proceeded through the stages of grief to where he can put the tragedy in perspective, understanding the lessons to be learned from it.

And incredibly, at age 30, he is off to the best start of his eight-year NBA career.

Through 34 games, he has averaged a career-high 19 points, with six games of 30 or more. He often is the Hornets' go-to guy down the stretch, and he has been the team's best perimeter defender, shutting down the likes of Toronto's Vince Carter and Philadelphia's Allen Iverson.

Jamal Mashburn is the Hornets' leading scorer, and Baron Davis has the NBA buzzing, but Wesley is the heart and soul of the Central Division's best team.

"He's playing the best basketball of his life," coach Paul Silas says. "I've never seen him shoot better, and I've never seen him play with more confidence. He is having a sensational season, and he is largely responsible for us being where we are right now."

SLOW TO HEAL

There were some who figured Wesley would never fully recover from the Phills' death, at least not as long as he was a Hornet. Not only did Wesley lose his best friend, he could not help but feel guilt about the way Phills died. Wesley was charged with reckless driving and speed competition after a police investigation ruled out more serious charges. Though he did not miss a game and he gave a touching speech at Phills' memorial service, Wesley did not talk publicly about the accident for five weeks.

Many pushed for the Hornets to trade him, thinking a fresh start might be his only salvation. But he has endured and succeeded.

"David has been extremely strong in these times," says Chip Sigmon, the Hornets' strength and conditioning coach and the leader of the team's pregame spiritual services. "I don't see how he's done it. At some point, he found the strength inside him to get through this, and now he's reaping the blessings."

Wesley still gets misty-eyed when he talks about Phills. He admitted that he wasn't sure how he'd react on the anniversary date, but he clearly is through the toughest times.

"Time really has helped," Wesley says. "I can say that gradually things have gotten better. It doesn't tear me apart to drive down Tyvola the way it used to. I don't question why it happened the way I used to.

"You know what? At some point, you realize somebody always has it worse. I don't care how bad you have it, somebody always has it, if not worse, at least different. I talked to a friend who has lost people in her life like 12 straight years. So in some ways, I've been fortunate that I haven't had to go through as much as a lot of people. At some point, you realize that you have a great life and life must go on."

BEST OF FRIENDS

Wesley and Phills had been linked virtually from the moment they arrived in Charlotte. They signed as free agents in the summer of 1997, Wesley coming from Boston and Phills from Cleveland, and with seven-year contracts they were the franchise's backcourt of the future.

It so happened that they hit it off immediately and became best friends off the court. They played golf together, their families vacationed together in the offseason, and the bond continued to grow until the day of Phills' death.

That's why they left together after the shootaround that morning a year ago, and that's at least part of the reason they found themselves momentarily caught up in a spontaneous 100-mph sprint up the six-lane boulevard that heads back toward the city.

"They were so close, I think we were all worried about David," Sigmon says. "I remember telling someone after the accident, `We need to watch David.' When we came back and played that first game in New York, I totally expected him to sit down on the court in the middle of the game and just let it out."