ALLENTOWN, Pa. _ Those who have my followed my predictions on high school sports over the years know I am often wrong; so wrong that I've had coaches beg me to pick the other team.
But perhaps I was never more wrong than I was March 18, 1996.
That's the day I wrote a Morning Call column with the headline "Turning pro could be a mistake for Lower Merion's Bryant."
In that column, I wrote that going straight from high school to the NBA would be a mistake for the athlete who was the most famous high school player in the country and winner of the Gatorade Player of the Year award.
I conceded that Bryant was a man among boys in the PIAA playoffs. I saw it firsthand two days earlier when Lower Merion ended Stroudsburg's dream season in the 4A quarterfinals at Pottsville.
He scored 36 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and had five blocks in the Aces' 71-54 win to advance to the Eastern final.
He was impressive on the floor and in a crowded Lower Merion locker room that day.
The Aces were getting as much media attention as the 76ers, and Bryant handled the microphones and tape recorders with the poise and professionalism of a 10-year NBA vet.
He was ready for the NBA in that sense, but I wondered if his still-developing body could handle the grind of an 82-game season and the vast expectations that would be placed on him.
Kevin Garnett had made a similar jump and was doing fine, but I wrote: "Bryant lacks the physical maturity and strength of Garnett to be able to come into the NBA and make a major impact."
I thought he needed a year, maybe two, of seasoning _ whether it was in the ACC, Big Ten, Big East or any major conference _ to make that leap into the pros.
To say I'd like to have that column back is an understatement.
What I didn't know as I met in him in that cramped Martz Hall locker room was that Bryant possessed drive, passion and a sense of determination like few professional athletes.
If he wasn't ready for the NBA that day in Pottsville, he was going to make sure he would be, and soon.
The one quote I used from him in the story after Lower Merion beat Stroudsburg was revealing. Bryant was never content and never going to settle for mediocrity.
"I guess I feel pretty good about my performance, but I always feel I can improve my game, whether I score 40, 50 or whatever," he said.
His work ethic and desire to improve may have been unrivaled in NBA history, and you sensed he wasn't going to stop achieving at the highest level possible in his post-NBA career either, which makes Sunday's helicopter crash all the more heartbreaking.
.jpg?w=600)
