Feel good high school hoops: Now and then
If you aren't touched by this story of high school basketball players reaching out to an opponent going through a very difficult time, Ally Sheedy's observations on aging from "The Breakfast Club" have proved themselves mighty prophetic. I'm man enough to admit, got a little misty. Just a beautiful display of humanity.
But lest anybody think I'm just out to spark tears, here's a high school blast from the past that should guarantee a smile. Footage of a 17 year-old Kobe Bryant as he leads Lower Merion to a AAAA State title. Fun stuff. And how you'd you like to be the Cathedral Prep kid who heard this phrase?
"I want you to guard 33. Now go have fun, champ."
I was also amused reading an old game report where Papa Jellybean talks up Kobe's ability to "make teammates better" while averaging nearly 30 ppg. It just struck me as funny, since a lot of Kobe fans think the phrase (admittedly often misappropriated, in my mind) was recently invented as a means of denying The Mamba any glory. Believe me, the cliches have all been around long before Kobe played, and they'll be around long after he calls it a career.
By the way, if you CGI'ed footage of Vic the Brick into the Lower Merion clip, the scenes of Kobe celebrating the prep win and 2006 Game 4 win against Phoenix become nearly indistinguishable.
AK
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
what a heart breaking, and, heart warming story from that high school basketball game.
very touching.
Posted by: steven v. | February 20, 2009 at 01:10 PM
The real bummer about the Amare injury, if it had to happen,
is that it didn't happen earlier in the week.
With Amare out for the rest of the season, Phoenix could have
had a fire sale to get them out of luxury tax both this season
and next.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | February 20, 2009 at 01:24 PM
KG wouldn't have missed the free throws.
He would have made both of them and then taunted the kid
whose mother died all the way down the floor. He'd have
laid down in front of him and crossed his arms over his
chest. Cuz that's the kind of classy guy KG is.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | February 20, 2009 at 01:25 PM
Why did he change shirts?
Posted by: cjms | February 20, 2009 at 01:37 PM
Congratulations to Pau Gasol for being named FIBA's European player of the year!
This year's Lakers are racking up the accolades to culminate in the O'Brien in June.
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | February 20, 2009 at 01:56 PM
Ryan,
We need the link in tiny URL form. Please go to tinyurl.com. Very easy to use.
Thanks,
AK
Posted by: kambrothers | February 20, 2009 at 02:33 PM
AK
Thanx for the rollercoaster ride.
Great stories.
Posted by: ChicNstu | February 20, 2009 at 02:36 PM
KG wouldn't have missed the free throws.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | February 20, 2009 at 01:25 PM
Yes, he would have, there was pressure on.
Posted by: Rob | February 20, 2009 at 02:44 PM
LTLF - wow - nothing like hitting a man when he's down....
OK OK - I'm kidding!!!! For one, gold teeth garnett's not a man - he's a thug. And for two - I'm just sorry I didn't think of it to blog that first - LOL!
That being said, I hope he gets it together so in June we can whup their asses proper with no excuses for them to fall back on. (Of course, they'll have to make it to June and the way it's looking in the East I'm not so sure....)
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: justanothermambafan | February 20, 2009 at 02:48 PM
It's nice to be reminded about how some young people in this country approach life with such compassion and empathy. Great story about that HS b/ball team.
After watching that video about Kobe in HS, it's hard to believe he wasn't drafted until 13th the year he came out (1996). Thank goodness for the prescience and insight of Jerry West.
1996 NBA Draft...
1. Allen Iverson--PHI.
2. Marcus Camby--TOR.
3. Sharif Abdul Rahim--VAN.
4. Stephon Marbury--MIL.
5. Ray Allen--MIN.
6. Antoine Walker--BOS.
7. Lorenzan Wright--LAC
8. Kerry Kittles--NJ
9. Samaki Walker--DAL.
10. Erick Dampier--IND.
11. Todd Fuller--GSW
12. Vitaly Potapenko--CLE.
13. Kobe Bryant--CHA.
Picks 1-8 I can see...all good college players and solid picks. 9-12, however, must still cause nightmares and "what ifs" for the teams that passed on the Bean. Glad that the Lakers had Jerry West and that he had the guts and conviction to trade his starting center(Vlade Divac) for a kid out of high school. Hindsight is always 20/20, but what West did is still pretty amazing.
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | February 20, 2009 at 03:49 PM
Cheers AK...that was cool.
A bit sad he doesnt seem close to his dad now though.
Posted by: Kiwi | February 20, 2009 at 04:10 PM
Who are those Pick 9-12? never heard Pick8 either.
Posted by: dara | February 20, 2009 at 04:26 PM