They got that player but it wasn’t the one they expected.

West Rowan’s Scooter Sherrill was standing on the sidelines watching.

Instead, it was a Davie County guard performing Duane surgery.

Duane Phillips, who grew up in the North Rowan area before transferring to the other side of the Yadkin River, took it to his former basketball buddies to the tune of 33 points on an eye-popping 15-of-17 from the field in the War Eagles 84-65 victory.

Phillips had been licking his lips at another shot at Scooter and West Rowan, who defeated Davie in last season’s finals. But a trophy is a trophy, no matter who it’s against.

“If we had played West Rowan, we’d have taken it to them just like that,” said Phillips, who had a sneaky suspicion all along that North was going to upset the Falcons in the semifinals.

So it was Phillips, not Scooter, getting the star treatment after the 29th annual Moir Classic had ended.

First, he picked up his MVP trophy to add to his growing collection. He blew a kiss to his adoring fans. He had to pose for pictures for giddy family members. And then, he put on the headset and talked to WSTPradio personality Howard Platt.

“I was kinda nervous about that,” he grinned. “I thought I was on ESPN.”

Phillips may one day join Scooter, an N.C. State recruit, on ESPN playing Division I basketball. His coach Jim Young thinks so because he was the one who planted that seed when he took over three summers ago.

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Young arrived at Davie via Pennsylvania with a penchant for turning around programs. He had his work cut out in the little town of Mocksville, where the county’s only high school was not what you’d call a basketball factory. It had only one winning season in the 90’s and that was a 14-13 record in 1995.

Young scoffed at the people who told him it was a no-win situation. He had taken one team that was 0-32 and four years later was a state semifinalist and a 29-4 club. Turning losers into winners and making kids meet their potential is what he and his staff — which came down south with him — did for a living, after all.

Young’s first order of business was calling for a summer meeting of prospects. Phillips did not attend. Assistant Brian Cantrell, now the coach at East Davidson, mentioned that to Young.

“Brian told me there was this little sophomore who wasn’t very focused but was very athletic,” Young recalled. “Brian said if I could get him on the right track, he could be very good.”

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So on the first day of school, Young sought out this Duane Phillips kid. He found him at an assembly rapping with his friends. Young chuckles about the meeting now.

“I put my hand on his back and said, ‘Are you Duane Phillips?’ He jumped up, raised his arms and said, ‘I didn’t do it! I didn’t do it!’

“I told him, ‘Duane, I know you didn’t do it. But you’re gonna do it. You’re going to play basketball and you’re going to play for me. I want you to meet me after school.’ ”

Phillips laughs too. “Davie had lost a lot and I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ But look at what Coach Young has done, man. We’re 13-0. I love him. He’s a father figure.”

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Young was a happy “basketball dad” when his boy ripped the Cavaliers at their own game. North’s reputation is quickness. Phillips was quicker. North’s game is coming at you in little waves. Phillips was a tidal wave.

He came into the game wanting to make up for a 21-point performance against Salisbury in the semifinals. Make up for a 21-point game?

“There were several scouts here who talked to me about how good Duane played against Salisbury,” Young said. “You know what he did? He apologized. He told me it wouldn’t happen tonight.”

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Phillips had talked the talk. Now, it was time to walk the walk in front of about 3,000 fans.

On Davie’s first possession of the game, he drilled a baseline jumper. On the second, he took a long pass and swished a 14-footer. On the third, he hit a pull-up in the lane. Davie led 12-2.

In the second quarter, North cut it to 18-13 and Phillips hit a turnaround jumper off the glass. He stopped and popped a three-pointer. He had three assists and another basket and Davie trotted to the locker room ahead by 10 at halftime.

The beginning of the third quarter was vintage Phillips. He hit two straight lane jumpers and then performed his patented move: he came around a screen set by Davie’s 6-7 monsters in the middle, caught a pass and banged home a three-pointer.

“He’s one heck of a ballplayer,” sighed North coach Kelly Everhart. “It didn’t matter who we put on him or what we tried to do.”

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Perhaps it was the spin he put on Dre Byrd that finally made the pro-North crowd realize that Phillips would not be denied his trophy. Davie beat the press, and Phillips displayed a move that left Byrd behind.

“I felt it tonight,” said Phillips, who is being recruited by East Carolina, Appalachian State and others. “I felt so good. I know all of those guys. Me and Dre have been friends since the sixth grade. I miss ‘em”

“Basically, this is his hometown,” Young said. “A lot of guys might tighten up. But Duane was focused and ready to play.”

Everyone benefits from Phillips. Guard him and leave Dominic Graham open and it’s usually a Phillips assist. Move out to the top of the key and he zips passes inside to Djordje Lukic, Jon Orsillo and Larry Umberger, three 6-7 horses.

And if you leave Duane open?

Please don’t leave Duane open.

“Duane is a great kid,” Young said. “He has charisma and he has a great attitude.”

No, the premier prep player in North Carolina didn’t play in the Moir finals Thursday night.

But thanks to the Great Duane, the fans still got to see a Scooter-like performance.

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