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[Ft. Worth Star Telegram] Best friend's death still weighs on Wesley

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Sherlock, Apr 28, 2005.

  1. Sherlock

    Sherlock Member

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    <font size="+1"><a href="http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/basketball/11511337.htm">Best friend's death still weighs on Wesley</font></a>
    Posted on Thu, Apr. 28, 2005
    By Dwain Price, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

    HOUSTON - No one has to remind David Wesley of the events of Jan. 12, 2000. It's a sad, sad chapter that changed his life forever.

    At the time, Wesley was playing for the Charlotte Hornets. His best friend, Bobby Phills, also was on the team.

    After leaving a shoot-around practice, Wesley and Phills were in separate Porsches, driving in excess of 100 mph. Then, in a flash, Wesley said, he looked in his rearview mirror and saw Phills' car crash.

    Phills died instantly. So did a part of Wesley.

    "I think about him before every game," said Wesley, now with the Houston Rockets. "Every time I lace them up."

    Dealing with Phills' death was painful enough for Wesley. But dealing with people who blamed him for it has been even more stressful.

    Wesley is especially hurt by those who say he and Phills were racing on a long winding road near the Charlotte Coliseum. And that their cars touched.

    Saying that Phills was driving behind him the entire time before the accident, Wesley added: "We weren't racing. We weren't even side-by-side.

    "We weren't really doing that much wrong, except driving fast."

    After Phills' death, Wesley lost his focus. His play was so inconsistent that the Hornets were set to trade him to the San Antonio Spurs for Avery Johnson, who now coaches the Mavericks. But it was reported that the Hornets nixed the deal because they knew the team needed Wesley to stay in Charlotte to help the players emotionally recover from Phills' death as much as Wesley needed them.

    Asked if he would do anything differently on the day of the accident, Wesley shrugged and said: "I don't know. I don't think so."

    Wesley, who graduated from Longview High School, was found guilty of reckless driving. For him, that was a good-news-bad-news verdict that signaled only that he could get on with his life without having to worry about whether or not he would have to spend some time in jail.

    But Wesley said he's doing time, in a way. A part of him knows he was speeding that day and that he didn't cause Phills' death, but a part of him also knows that his best friend didn't have to die when he did.

    "I went around the turn, the same turn he went around," Wesley said. "I don't know what his car did or what he did. I don't know."

    What Wesley does know is Phills' widow, Kendall, has helped him cope with her husband's death. The two families have formed a special bond.

    "I just talked to Kendall," Wesley said, "just before the playoffs started."

    And no doubt, Wesley will will be thinking about Bobby Phills tonight when he laces them up.

    <img src="http://www.dfw.com/images/dfw/startelegram/news/1701675-627264.jpg">
     
  2. Gummi Clutch

    Gummi Clutch Member

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    Man, sometimes you have to dig really deep for a story.:rolleyes:
     
  3. CriscoKidd

    CriscoKidd Member

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    wtf is your problem?
     
  4. B-ball freak

    B-ball freak Member

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    I assume he was talking about the author and not the poster. Even so, this is exactly the type of personal interest stuff they write about during the playoffs, made more relevant because he plays for the opponent of the area team as well as being from the region himself. This was a huge story when it happened and I am kind of surprised it has not been brought up in the Chronicle since Wesley has been here.
     
  5. tigermission1

    tigermission1 Member

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    Is Dallas media trying to use dirty tactics to get inside our player's heads right before Game 3, so they won't be concentrating on the task at hand?;)

    IT WON'T WORK!!:D
     
  6. wnes

    wnes Contributing Member

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    While a sports writer is at liberty to publish whatever he chooses to, one can not but question the timing of and motivation behind this story - especially from the side of an opposing team.

    I mean, are we expecting to see more of the similar articles coming out re Wesley in subsequent rounds, should Rockets advance deep into playoffs?
     
  7. cson

    cson Member

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    Yeah, that article is pretty passive aggressive.
     

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