PITTSBURGH _ Kobe munched on a Quarter Pounder. I decided on the Big Mac. We ate and we talked, for a while.
This was lunch on a late March day in 1996 when Kobe Bryant, then a senior at Lower Merion High School near Philadelphia, was in Pittsburgh for the McDonald's All-American Game. Kobe and the East all-star team had practiced at Pitt's Fitzgerald Field House and lunch was served to the team immediately afterward. What else would they have for lunch at the McDonald's game?
Kobe and I sat at a table on the second level of the Field House. I needed to speak with him for a full-page story the Post-Gazette was planning to run in a few days.
In more than 40 years of covering countless high school athletes and coaches, some of the interviews and athletes stand out. That 1996 interview, that kid Kobe, stood out.
Well, it wasn't really an interview with Kobe. It was more a talk with a most unique 17-year-old. Who could've really predicted his future greatness at the time? But he just seemed to have "it," whatever "it" is. And we're not talking about his wonderful basketball ability.
I had spoken with Kobe twice on the phone in the previous year for stories. I found him enlightening and engaging. But talking with him in person left an everlasting impression. We talked for probably a half hour, about many things. It was obvious he was mature beyond his years. He was articulate and humorous. He was insightful and seemingly so genuine.
The memories of that interview all came back Sunday when Kobe passed. I went back and found that story from 24 years ago, read the comments about Kobe and read the comments from Kobe. They gave a small glimpse of what he would become.
Since his death, there has been plenty of talk about Bryant's love for his daughters. Back in 1996, when talking about living in Italy for eight years, he said, "I loved Italy. It had such a family atmosphere. Family comes first for me."
Bryant was only a senior in high school then, before social media. But he already received plenty of attention from the media and enjoyed it. He was a people person back then. After lunch on that March day, he was more than happy to throw down some dunks for Post-Gazette photographer Peter Diana, who had installed a camera atop a backboard in the Field House.
"You get to talk to a lot of people, see new faces," Bryant said. "I enjoy talking to tape recorders. There are people who would kill to be in my position. Why not have fun with it?"
During that 1996 interview, Kobe talked about his love for kids then and others talked about his penchant for children. After Lower Merion games when he was a senior, autograph-seekers and well-wishers used to wait for him outside the locker room _ and Kobe would usually sign every autograph. But on one night at Haverford High, the line of autograph hounds was very long, and Lower Merion's players and coaches were waiting on the team bus. Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer came back in the gym to urge Kobe to get on the bus because it was a school night. Tom McGovern, former Lower Merion athletic director, told of how a little girl started crying when Bryant took off for the bus because she didn't get an autograph.
"Kobe saw her, took his sneakers off his shoulders and said, 'Here.' Then he just walked away," McGovern said. "That sums up the kind of kid he is."
During that 1996 interview, I asked Kobe about his tongue-wagging, much like Michael Jordan. "People always say that, but I'm my own person," he said.
After that afternoon interview with Kobe in 1996, I came back to the Field House that night for the slam dunk contest. I brought my two oldest sons, Mike and Sean, who were 8 and 5 at the time. Bryant saw them and immediately came over to meet them. A picture was taken with Kobe and Sean still has that photo in his phone today because Bryant became his idol. My son struggled Sunday over Kobe's death. But it was like that for many across the world.
"You can't say, 'I don't want to be a role model' because you are," Bryant said during that 1996 interview. "I think there are a lot of negative things going on right now in this nation and kids need somebody to look up to. They look up to Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson, but they never really have a feel for them. When you're in high school, kids really get a chance to see you."
Bryant's high school career ended with a state championship a week before he played in the McDonald's game. He finished with 2,883 career points. He averaged 32 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals as a senior and scored 39 in the PIAA semifinals.
Erie Cathedral Prep was Lower Merion's opponent in the title game. It was not a vintage Kobe performance. He took only 13 shots and scored 17 points (he also had 8 rebounds). Cathedral Prep played a zone and doubled Bryant when he got the ball. Then if he dribbled, a third defender would come to help.
The game had a slow pace, just what Cathedral Prep wanted. Lower Merion trailed at halftime, 21-15. But Kobe started making plays and scoring in the second half and Lower Merion won, 48-43.
Bryant had already said he was thinking of skipping college and going right to the NBA. It was obvious he was gifted. But I remember wondering after the game how in the world would this kid survive in the NBA only a year later? Huh. Great analysis.
Eight days after that state championship, Bryant was playing in front of 13,400 at the Civic Arena for the McDonald's All-American game. It was the same place his father, Joe, won MVP for the Pennsylvania All-Stars in the prestigious Dapper Dan Roundball Classic in 1972.
Two of Bryant's teammates for the East team were Jermaine O'Neal and Rip Hamilton. Mike Bibby was on the West team. The East team's coach was legendary John Miller of Blackhawk High in the WPIAL. Miller's assistants were Peters Township's Rick Bell and North Catholic's Don Graham, the WPIAL's all-time winningest coach.
NBA scouts and coaches were at the game to look at Bryant and a few others. He had 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
"I thought I played all right," Kobe said after the game. "But I really didn't get a chance to shake and bake and show my stuff."
After the game, I ran into his mother and father in the parking lot. They thanked me for the stories on their son.
And on this day, I say to Kobe: Thanks for the memories.
