Kobe Bryant    

Italian Style:  Kobe picked up fluency in Italian while his father, Joe " Jellybean" Bryant, played pro ball in Italy for eight years after an eight year NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers, and Houston Rockets. More importantly to basketball fans, Kobe also picked up some pretty impressive hoops skills by playing against older players. It seems that many kids in Italy were more interested in soccer. Kobe moved back to the U.S. with his family in 1991.

The Coach:  By the time the Bryant family returned to Pennsylvania to live just outside of Philadelphia, Kobe was already a force on the court. His former high school coach, Gregg Downer, has been quoted by The Sporting News (Subscribe at Sportingnews.com) as saying at the time, "That kid's a pro."

The Heads Turn:  What is astonishing is that Coach Downer invited Kobe to practice with the varsity after watching him play for only five minutes. Kobe was 13 years old, in the eighth grade, turning heads, being called a pro by his future high school coach, getting invited to practice with the varsity. And it was only the beginning.

The Year:  Jump ahead to Kobe's senior year, 1996. What a season. Not only did Kobe gather a multitude of individual national honors (see "Career Highlights" on Intro/Bio/Stats page) that year, he also took the Lower Merion Aces on his shoulders, or on his basketball shoes, and took them all the way to win a State Championship in Class AAAA - Lower Merion's first Championship in 53 years. Kobe had 39 points.

The Difference:  Lower Merion was 4-20 in Kobe's freshman year, but he led them to a 31-3 record his senior year, averaging 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4 steals, and 3.8 blocks per game. How much did he bring to this team? On March 12, 2002, Lower Merion won its first PIAA Class AAAA state playoff game since the Kobe Bryant era. It only took six years.

The Record:  In all fairness, Lower Merion HS is known for its academics more than its athletics. Kobe changed that for a short period of time. He also changed the record books. With 2,883 points, Kobe became the highest scorer in Philadelphia-area high school history, surpassing the late Wilt Chamberlain's 2,359. The differences in playing styles were obvious. Regardless, getting mentioned favorably in the same sentence as the powerful, legendary Chamberlain was an accomplishment in and of itself for this flashy, but fundamentally sound, teenager.

The Declaration:  Following his final season of HS basketball, Kobe considered his options. Ultimately, he decided against playing for the likes of Michigan, Duke, and North Carolina (and about any other college who had at least one recruiter), and declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft. On June 26, 1996, Kobe was selected 13th in the first round by the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets quickly traded the signing rights for Kobe to the Los Angeles Lakers for seven-year veteran center Vlade Divac.