| | CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The 3-year-old son of Bobby Phills walked
up to the podium, hand in hand with his mother. She picked him up
and he spoke into the microphone.
"Tell everybody where Daddy is," Kendall Phills said.
|  | | Dwayne Phills, brother of Bobby Phills, holds Bobby Phills' son Bobby III in front
of his father's casket during Friday's memorial service. |
"In heaven," Bobby Phills III said. Then, he added, "With the
angels."
The boy then ran off the stage and hugged his 1-year-old sister,
Kerstie.
Phills' two children were among several hundred mourners who
gathered Friday at a memorial service for the Charlotte Hornets
player. The 30-year-old guard was killed just after practice Wednesday
in what police suspect was a drag-racing accident with teammate
David Wesley near the team's arena.
Phills' bronze casket was surrounded by floral arrangements, one
in the shape of a basketball hoop and ball, and two poster-size
photographs of him on the court.
Phills' wife, Kendall Phills, said she met her husband when she
was just 14.
"He adored our beautiful children and he loved his parents,"
she said tearfully. "It's truly been a blessing for me to have
Bobby as my husband, friend and eternal soul mate."
She read a poem that she wrote, with the verse concluding:
"It broke my heart to lose you.
But you didn't go alone.
For a part of me went with you the day God called you home."
Wesley, the Hornets' point guard, spoke of his close friend and
struggled for composure in the service at Central Church of God. He
made no mention of the accident.
"I don't really know what I want to say, but he was my partner
in crime," he began. "We had some fun."
Wesley called Phills a fierce competitor on the basketball court
and golf course.
"He always had to win, and even when he wasn't winning he
talked enough trash to make you think he was winning," he said,
drawing laughter.
Coach Paul Silas said what he will miss most about Phills is his
infectious smile.
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Wife's poem
|
|
You never said, "I'm leaving."
You never said, "Goodbye."
You were gone before I knew it.
And God only knows why.
A million times I've needed you.
A million times I've cried.
If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died.
In life I loved you dearly.
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a special place no one can ever fill.
It broke my heart to lose you.
But you didn't go alone.
For a part of me went with you the day God called you home.
|
"He would brighten up the room when he entered," he said.
"And he was smart and perceptive on and off the court."
Silas said Phills took it in stride when he was asked to give up
his starting job this season.
"When I asked him to go to the bench he said, 'Coach, I'll do
whatever I need to do to help this team.' "
Police said Phills lost control of his Porsche and skidded into
oncoming traffic. The investigation might be wrapped up next week.
The NBA postponed Charlotte's Friday night home game against the
New York Knicks, but the Hornets will play the Knicks in New York
on Saturday night.
A contingent of Knicks players and coaches led by Patrick Ewing
attended Phills' service. The Charlotte-Chicago game scheduled the
night of the wreck also was postponed.
"The bad thing I feel," said Hornets vice president Bob Bass,
his voice shaking, "was that I never told Bobby that I love him.
God, it's tough to lose a guy like that."
After the Knicks game Saturday night, the team will take a
charter to Charlotte, then fly to Baton Rouge, La., Sunday for
Phills' funeral and burial. The service will be held at Southern
University, where Phills earned a bachelor's degree in animal
science.
On Monday, the Hornets play the Toronto Raptors at Charlotte
Coliseum. A moment of silence and a video tribute to Phills is
planned. His teammates plan to wear a patch bearing Phills' No. 13
on their jerseys for the rest of the season.
The Hornets said they will retire his jersey number at their
Feb. 9 home game against Cleveland, where Phills spent his first
six NBA seasons. Phills' jersey will be the first retired in the
11-year history of the Charlotte franchise.
| |
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Bobby Phills' memorial service included words from his wife Kendall.
RealVideo: | 28.8
David Wesley will never forget his friend.
avi: 897 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Paul Silas tells what he will miss most about Phills.
wav: 99 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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