Bobby Phillips came home to Salisbury this week to celebrate Mother’s Day.

And celebrate life.

The former Salisbury High basketball star is on a heavenly ride right now, even if he isn’t in the NBA.

See if you can guess where the 25-year old Phillips is starring as a professional basketball player.

• He is hauling in around a six-figure salary. He lives in a two-story home free of charge. His paycheck is tax-free. He has been given a car.
• He has a passion for schnitzel and the potato salad that comes with it. And don’t forget those mouth-watering pastries, please.
• He plays with the Alps as his backdrop and he is definitely alive with the sound of music.

Give up?

Bobby Phillips is playing for a team in Austria. His season lasts from August through May. Then, he flies to the West Coast to hang out with his high school pal Bobby Jackson of the Sacramento Kings.

Every now and then, Phillips must take in a deep breath and look in the mirror to make sure this is really him.

“I’ve been blessed,” he said in that deep, Barry White-like, bass voice.

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Being blessed is also why Phillips is back in Salisbury this week.

“I wanted to see my grandmother, Ella Phillips, and all of the other mothers who helped me along the way,” he said. “I’m grandma’s boy.”

Phillips considers himself a very lucky man.

“I saw how hard my grandmother worked to take care of us,” he said. “Honestly, my job now is to play basketball for two hours and the rest of the time enjoy whatever I want to do.”

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Like any big-time scorer in high school and college, Phillips had dreams of the NBA. After two years at Western Carolina, he had the chance.

But it took one pre-draft workout with the Indiana Pacers to let him know exactly where he stood.

The Pacers brought in three players at a time and they had so many seconds to catch and dunk, catch and dunk.

“I was with Valpo’s Bryce Drew and Shammond Williams,” remembers the 6-foot-6 Phillips. “I did it between 15 and 17 times and felt content.”

The next wave of players included a guy named Vince Carter, who did the catch and dunk drill 40 times.

“I had to be honest with myself. That right there opened my eyes and let me know I wasn’t ready,” Phillips said.

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Thus, his agent found him a place in Austria, a country sandwiched between Germany, Italy and Hungary and known for its beautiful mountain scenery.

Basketball? Well, the money is there but in Phillips’ first two seasons, only about 1,500 fans show up to watch.

Phillips played against several familiar names this past season in the Austrian pro league. Wake Forest’s Tony Rutland was league MVP. N.C. State’s Justin Gainey and Clemson’s Terrell McIntyre also play there.

Phillips has made quite a transition since going to Austria. Always a small or big forward, he realized to make it in Europe, he had to become a guard.

“In four or five games, I played the point and I take pride in that,” he smiled.

He did well enough to make the all-star team, averaging 22 points, six rebounds and two steals.

“There’s a lot of pressure in Europe on Americans,” Phillips noted. “If a team does badly, it’s either us or the coach that’s let go. And that’s because of the perception people have. America is the power. Americans are supposed to be like Mike.”

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Regardless of the distance, a Salisbury flavor is always there. Phillips (called Bobby Joe by his friends)talks or writes to Jackson (called Bobby Lee) every single day.

He visits California often and revels in Jackson’s fame as a King.

“We went to the Outback (Steakhouse) one night and people were around his car,” Phillips said. “There were notes on the window telling him good luck in the next series.”

And then there all those calls from back home concerning Scooter Sherrill, West Rowan’s phenom who shattered Phillips’ Rowan County scoring record of 1,849 points. Sherrill finished with 2,469.

“Believe me, even in Europe, I received a lot of phone calls about that,” he said. “People wanted to know how I felt.”

Phillips held the record for almost 20 years. He took it from North Rowan’s most famous name, James Henderson (1,654).

“Me being a competitor, of course, I was a little disappointed,” Phillips continued. “I wanted it to stand a little longer. Mr. Henderson’s stood for a long time.”

Rowan County has had great players and Phillips said that was always the driving force.

“The fortunate thing for myself, Bobby and Scooter was that there was always somebody before us. There were Jamie Surratt, Brian Withers, Fred Campbell and Donald Jenkins that paved the way for Joel Fleming and Scooter. And the tradition just continues.”

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Does Phillips still dream of the NBA?

“I have to be honest,” he admitted. “I’ve been lazy. I’ve kinda been in a comfort zone. My agent has opportunities where I could go to L.A. and play in the FILA Summer League every year. My first year I didn’t do it and Bobby got upset.

“But my situation is totally different from his. I’m coming in from Europe and have only two months. The summer league would leave me with only two weeks.”

Phillips is leaving for Sacramento Wednesday but says he will return here in June and work out until it’s time to go back to the promised land of Austria for his third season.

“I’ve used basketball to the fullest,” he said. It isn’t going to last forever. I’m going to have to go to work eventually. But I’ve seen a lot. Hopefully, I can get as much as I can and one day say, ‘I enjoyed life.’”

That’s why Bobby Phillips is back in Salisbury for Mother’s Day. He wants to make sure Grandma knows she’s going enjoy it with him.

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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4256 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com