Kobe Bryant in High School, the most dominant player to come out of the Philadelphia area since Wilt Chamberlain
December 7, 1992 The Philadelphia Inquirer
The (Lower Merion) Aces appear to have come up with another blossoming marquee player in Kobe Bryant , son of Joe “Jellybean” Bryant , the former La Salle All-American. Please forgive the enthusiasm of Aces coach Gregg Downer, who knows his 6- foot, 4-inch freshman will play and score, but might not yet know from what position. “We may go to a three-guard offense,” Downer said. “And then again he ( Bryant ) may play the “three (small forward).”
April 8, 1995 The Philadelphia Inquirer
No Philadelphia-area players competed last Sunday in the high school All- America basketball game in St. Louis. Before tipoff, however, tournament officials anticipated next year’s game, and the athlete they expect will enter it as the nation’s No. 1 schoolboy player; Kobe Bryant of Lower Merion, The Inquirer’s all-area player of the year.
October 5, 1995 Philly.com
According to his father, Joe Bryant, the La Salle assistant coach and former La Salle and 76ers player, Kobe is accepting no home visits from college coaches and visiting no college campuses. That makes it easy to deduce that next year, Kobe Bryant will play at La Salle or he will play in the NBA.
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May 6, 1996, Sports Illustrated
Bryant, a 6’6″ shuffler—except on a basketball court, where he moves like lightning—ambled up to the podium in a vent-less sport coat and fine dress trousers bought at the last minute and in need of a tailor, his sunglasses positioned on the top of his shiny shaved head. His coat had puffy shoulders, masking his frame, which at 190 pounds is as skinny and malleable as a strand of cooked spaghetti. He leaned his goofy kid’s mouth toward the microphone, mockingly brought his fingers to his unblemished chin as if he were still pondering his decision, and delivered the news that insiders had been expecting for a week.
“I’ve decided to skip college and take my talent to the NBA,” Bryant said.
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