LEXINGTON, Ky. — On Sunday, the news of the death of Kobe Bryant shook the global basketball community.
The tragedy resonated deeply with members of the Vanderbilt program, some of whom had a close connection to the 41-year-old NBA legend.
“We’re going to miss him,” Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse said. “We’re going to miss what he brought to the game. So many kids and so many people admire his drive and what he was able to accomplish. We’re all going to miss him.”
The sports world has suffered a great loss today, with the tragic death of Kobe Bryant.
Kobe was the ultimate competitor, consummate professional, & the utmost sportsman. He will be missed by millions all over the world! Rest In Peace Showboat!🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/QQD5RZkiDB— Jerry Stackhouse (@jerrystackhouse) January 26, 2020
Stackhouse and Bryant played their entire NBA careers at virtually the same time. They also played against each other in the 2000 and 2001 NBA All-Star Game and, reportedly, Bryant would play 1-on-1 pick-up games against Stackhouse and other Philadelphia 76ers as a youth in Philadelphia.
Bryant began his NBA career in 1996 and played 20 seasons – all with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“We weren’t spending a whole lot of dinners together because we were trying to beat him,” Stackhouse joked. “We were envious of the fact that he had the big fella (Shaquille O’Neal) over there and then, again, like I said it became a chess match to where he didn’t really need anybody but his will.
“You could tell he had the skillset as a 16-year-old that was going to translate to being a great pro. Not only did he become a great pro, he became one of the greatest. He had it at an early age for sure.”
Stackhouse noted it was evident later in Bryant’s career how the scoring guard became a student of the game under the tutelage of coaches Phil Jackson and Tex Winter. Bryant became a five-time NBA champion, was twice an NBA Finals MVP, an All-Star selection 18 times and the NBA’s MVP in 2008.
For young men and women playing basketball during his era, and especially in California, Bryant became an icon.
“Growing up Kobe was my favorite player,” Vanderbilt freshman Scotty Pippen Jr. said. “I used to wear his jersey number and I kind of modeled my game after him.
“Him and my dad were real close. My dad helped him a lot, like on the defensive end he used to always call my dad. Just a year ago he went to a (NBA G League) game with me and my dad. It was cool seeing him. Kobe meant everything in LA, really.”
I’m devastated and I feel like I lost a part of me. Kobe was amazing, a champion and an icon, and it’s impossibly difficult to know he’s not here anymore. pic.twitter.com/OmC3fWC1YT
— Scottie Pippen (@ScottiePippen) January 27, 2020
Pippen played for Sierra Canyon High School in Los Angeles and fellow freshman guard Braelee Albert played for the Brentwood School in the same city. Albert said his mother called him Sunday to relay the news.
He was still processing the loss Wednesday before Vanderbilt’s shoot around in Lexington, Kentucky.
“Honestly, I’m still speechless,” Albert said. “One of the most tragic things ever. I started tearing up when it happened.
“He was everything. I grew up watching him. Every game I went to, Kobe was there. You obviously try to emulate a lot of things into your game – the biggest thing is probably work ethic. But yeah, losing him is a tough one.”
Stackhouse said that the death of Bryant puts things into a greater perspective. The first-year Vandy coach took a few days off this week to visit his 90-year-old father in South Carolina, a man Stackhouse referred to as his hero.
Stackhouse added Bryant’s death served as a reminder that he and his staff are in charge of molding young men into great men, “Vanderbilt men,” and that process holds more weight than results on the court.
So now as the Commodores prepare to face No. 13 Kentucky at 5:30 p.m. CT Wednesday, they’ll do so knowing that a winning or losing isn’t the most important aspect of their lives – all while remembering the legacy of Bryant.
“He’s definitely gone too soon,” Stackhouse said of Bryant. “You see how much of a family man he was, how he was pouring into his daughter and her prospects as a potential player. It’s sad. But it just puts things into perspective, right? We sit here and this is our livelihood. I have to live with this every day – and I should – and we’re consumed with what we deal with daily. But there is another level of stuff that you should really, really care about.
“So yeah, I’d love to go beat Kentucky. But there’s a lot of things that mean more than basketball.”
Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com. Follow him @MrChadBishop.
