GREENVILLE — Throughout Saturday’s East Regional final, throughout any game this season for that matter, Apex senior Tim Plummer almost always had a smile running across his face.

He’s clearly enjoying himself on the court, but he’s taking even more pleasure in the game now, after having taken it for granted.

Plummer had to sit out the first half of this season because he was academically ineligible.

“I was just so anxious to come back,” Plummer said. “Before I didn’t realize how big [school] was. Now it’s a whole ’nother picture. I just had to hit the books, and I’m hitting the books hard now. Don’t take advantage of anything because once it’s gone you realize how much you miss it.”

During the first half of the season, Plummer still attended games and watched the Cougars struggle. After a promising 3-0 start, Apex lost nine of its next 10.

Despite the shaky beginning, teammates expected Plummer might help them turn things around when he returned.

“I knew this kid would be a factor when he came back,” said Apex junior Adam Perry. “We just had to keep our heads up, keep fighting. When he came back, maybe he might make a difference. I think he has.”

The Cougars are 15-2 since the 4-9 start, and they will play for their first state championship Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum.

Plummer has been the catalyst behind the turnaround.

Not long after his return, when the Cougars were in the midst of winning eight of nine, coach David Neal simply stated what had changed with his team.

“Tim Plummer,” Neal said after Apex’s 66-63 win over Cary on Feb. 8. “He plays harder than any kid I’ve ever seen. He’s got a contagious enthusiasm about him. He’s just a winner.”

“He’s just constant energy,” said senior forward DeArius White. “He’s our best defender. He makes our jobs a lot easier because he draws a lot of attention.”

At the end of both regional games last week, Plummer had the ball — and Apex’s season — in his hands. The attention he drew allowed him to set up his teammates with better shots than he could create for himself.

At the end of the March 5 regional semifinal against Fayetteville Sanford, Plummer set up White at the top of the key for a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left that put the Cougars up for good. They went on to win 58-55.

In Saturday’s regional final against Fayetteville Britt, Plummer drove to the hoop, and after attracting a double team, flung the ball across the lane to Weston Murphy for the game-winning basket with 6.4 seconds to play. The Cougars won 45-44.

“He’s made all the difference,” Murphy said. “He turned our team around.”

For his efforts, Plummer was named regional MVP. He had 14 points and 13 rebounds in the semifinal and 13 points and seven boards in Saturday’s title game.

While most onlookers have been trying to grasp how Apex has marched through the playoffs, Plummer succinctly offered an explanation.

“We’re just having fun.”