Basketball
from a fan’s perspective
This is
extremely difficult, to provide a summary of one’s life especially when they
pass away at such a young age. With that
said, this is the best I can offer I hope it provides a little insight for you
reading this. These are my words alone,
I read reports of the helicopter crash however storyline is mine alone, it’s
not been copied from any other sources other than my memory. There are several personalities identified by
one name exclusively, Cher, Sting, Bono and Madonna to name a few. Some have existed in the NBA, you say Michael
or MJ, Hakeem or LeBron. Kobe Bryant was
included in the group too, if you said Kobe in a sentence those inside and
outside the NBA were familiar with the name and were aware who you were
discussing. He was a brilliant mind,
good enough for Duke if he’d desired to attend college.
His travels
while a child contributed to him being fluent in several foreign
languages. For him it was the NBA and
former Laker President Jerry West was ecstatic after seeing this 17-year old
work out prior to the draft. West was so
confident in the youngster’s ability he arranged a trade with the Hornets. In the 1996 draft the Charlotte Hornets
drafted Kobe with the 13th pick, the Lakers first pick was 24. West traded center Vlade Divac to the Hornets
for the draft rights to Kobe Bean Bryant.
Del Harris then Laker coach brought Kobe along slowly playing him in a reserve
role his first two seasons in the NBA. In
the 1998 playoffs against the Jazz two consecutive
trips down the court Kobe witnessed him shooting two air balls. Kobe waived off teammates preferring to take the shot. The Lakers went on to lose that series against the Jazz. Kobe was a difficult taskmaster; he expected
his teammates to play with the ferocity he did.
He butted heads
with Shaq and later with Dwight Howard due to the issue of how he perceived
their effort during practice. There were
reports he was not a good teammate; how much is true has never been fully
revealed. This we do know he was an
outstanding basketball player. The career
highlights and honors are far too extensive to attempt to list in this brief
account. We can look back at his career
and state we saw this brash sometimes impulsive 17-year old become one of the
NBA’s best. By the time Kobe arrived in
the NBA the Kings were a distant memory in Kansas City, I only witnessed his
play in person once, a pre-season exhibition game. As for television the times are far too
numerous to even comprehend. In
retirement Kobe ventured into other areas even winning an Oscar and Emmy in
2018, R.I.P. Black Mamba from your fans.
Blue Blood programs
Former 5-star prospect Kahlil Whitney is transferring from
Kentucky, 5-star prospect Caleb Love is headed for North Carolina in the
fall. What do they have in common you
ask, highly talented players who chose to play for Blue Blood programs? There are few details on Whitney other than
he’s fallen out of the playing rotation.
Whether this was a coach’s decision or an exceptional player in front of
him we don’t know.
As for Love the St. Louis kid was heavily recruited by Mizzou
but decided in favor of North Carolina. As
bad as Mizzou’s played at times this year their won-loss record exceeds
Carolina. They could be much improved by
the time Caleb arrives in Chapel Hill, but we don’t know that to be a fact. The point is clear despite the possibility of
not being in the player rotation or below average team play Blue Bloods still
rule.
Help wanted
The last game on the Lakers Grammy Road trip resulted in a
loss. LeBron James passed Kobe Bryant in
career scoring but that’s the only positive.
Anthony Davis was there but those two were the only Lakers that managed
to appear. There were a bunch of guys in
Laker jerseys, but they surrendered rather easily to the Sixers. The final score read Sixers 106 Lakers 91, once
again the Lakers confuse me. With all the souls healthy and LeBron’s pronouncement the team was deep
enough but maybe not.
