By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
KANNAPOLIS ó A.L. Brown guard Demarcus “Smoke” Phifer wore a dark blue practice jersey, tall white socks and an easy smile as the Wonders rolled through upbeat drills on Monday afternoon.
Phifer, a late-blooming senior who emerged as a player at the end of his junior year, grinned as he drilled a series of soft pullups and sweet floaters over running mate Xavier Watson in a one-on-one drill.
The lightning-quick Watson, an All-State DB, laughed out loud after he bit on a pump-fake and watched Phifer sail by like a puff of smoke up a chimney. Phifer reversed the layup just to make it interesting. Watson shook his head in mock disgust, as teammates hooted.
Obviously, no Wonder can stop Phifer. Neither has anyone else. He is an offensive machine who averages 22.9 points a game.
“Phifer’s come a long way,” said assistant coach James Allen, who lit it up for South Rowan in the mid-1970s. “He’s a load one-on-one and one of the best in the SPC right now. All he needs to learn now is how to play with a lead. He’s got that motor running all the time.”
Although Phifer can dunk, head coach Shelwyn Klutz says his star is “5-foot-11 in heels.” Many muscular teammates are far more imposing, but Phifer is the one opponents have learned to respect most.
“He’s consistent, and I’d have to put him up there with Garrett Sherrill and Avery Patterson as the best scorer I’ve ever had here,” said Klutz, who has piloted the Wonders for 12 seasons. “He’s hitting deep 3s, making shots off the dribble, scoring around the basket.”
Phifer poured in 30 and 32 in Brown’s first two games, as he waited for football players to arrive after their run to the 3AA state championship game.
He’s scored 20-plus in each of his last four outings. In a huge SPC road sweep of talented Sun Valley and decent Parkwood on back-to-back nights over the weekend, Phifer dropped 23 and 29.
“Smoke has been unbelievable this year, as far as the great leadership and making his best shots at the right times,” teammate T.J. Johnson said. “We’ve all been waiting for this because that’s what he used to do back in middle school.”
In the seventh grade at Kannapolis Middle, Roger Smith laid the “Smoke” label on Phifer. Smith stars for rival Concord now, but the unique nickname stuck around
For a long time, it appeared Phifer’s glory days would be limited to middle school. He spent two years on the jayvees, then took a seat at the end of the varsity bench as a junior because he was considered a defensive liability.
But last January he got a chance and scored 16 points against Concord. He was in double figures four more times down the stretch, and Klutz entered the 2008-09 season figuring Phifer would likely be his most lethal offensive weapon.
“Last year, he really needed to get better defensively, but he was always patient and kept a good attitude,” Klutz said. “And since that game at Concord he hasn’t turned back. He’s calm, he seldom gets rattled, and he has a will to score.”
Phifer has steel under his happy-go-lucky exterior. He scored 18 at South Rowan before spraining an ankle. He was hurting, but he was back on the floor 24 hours later.
“There was a lot of swelling, but we had a league game with Sun Valley so he said to tape him up and he’d go,” Klutz said. “He scored 20. I think all his teammates realized that night how tough he was.”
Phifer won’t join Sherrill and Patterson in the 1,000-point club, but he isn’t upset about lost time.
“It started to happen for me when I started practicing harder,” he said. “If you practice hard, you can’t not do well in the games. Now I just go out and play, and my teammates are doing a great job of looking for me and getting me going every night. I’m just doing my job and knocking down open shots.”
Usually Watson plays the point, but Phifer can slide over from the No. 2 guard when necessary. He’s a solid ballhandler and creative passer. He produced eight assists against Porter Ridge.
Their weekend success proved the Wonders (6-5, 4-3) still can place high in the SPC. Klutz’s football guys have found their basketball legs, and team chemistry has jumped in recent weeks.
“Phifer carried us,” Klutz said. “But now he’s getting help.”