KOBE BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL CAREER 

On the court, Kobe’s transition was seamless. He was one of the Sonny Hill League’s top players during the summer of 1992. He then entered Lower Merion High School and made the varsity basketball team for the Aces. The following spring he began going to the gym at Temple University looking for pick-up games.

By his junior year, Kobe finally felt comfortable in his surroundings. He also began to make major strides in his hoops career. At 6-5, he decided his basketball future was probably in the backcourt and began to think and practice like a guard. This was fine by Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer, who liked the mismatches Kobe presented to opponents. In truth, between the expert advice the youngster received from his father and the competition he faced each year in Philadelphia’s top summer leagues, he would have been a handful for just about any high-school defender.

Kobe sizzled during the 1994-95 season. The junior averaged 31.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists and was named Pennsylvania Player of the Year. Kobe also unveiled his devastating cross-over dribble during the campaign.

After Kobe’s breakout year, college recruiters from across the country came knocking. The soon-to-be senior boasted excellent grades and SAT scores, so academics would not be an obstacle. At the top of his list were Duke, North Carolina, Villanova and Michigan.

But when Chicago schoolboy Kevin Garnett went in the first round of the NBA Draft in June of 1995, Kobe began seriously considering moving directly to the pros. That summer, Joe arranged for his son to work out with members of the 76ers, and Kobe was awesome. He also made a big impression on scouts at the ABCD All-America Camp at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

As a senior, Kobe’s sparkling play put Lower Merion on the high-school basketball map. The Aces posted a 32-3 record and captured their first state title in 42 years. The school’s name was in the newspapers constantly, college coaches filled the stands for every game, and coach Downer received invitations to several prestigious tournaments. Kobe finished the year with a scoring average of 30.8 points, pushing his four-year points total to 2,883.

           

Kobe ended the speculation that spring at a press conference in the Lower Merion gym. Before dozens of reporters and camera crews—and with friends from the group Boyz II Men nearby—he announced that he had decided to take his talents to the NBA. A short time later he signed on with the William Morris Agency, then inked multi-year endorsement deals with Adidas and Sprite.