The world was stunned yesterday at the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter. Matt Morgan recalls his experience playing against Kobe while he was in high school. The former TNA Tag Team Champion spoke about Bryant and how he played against him at an All-American camp. Highlights below:
On Bryant’s legacy in the NBA: “He’s on the Mount Rushmore of the NBA. If you had a top 10, top 8… Kobe was generally always on that. He’s one of the greatest of all-time and super influential.
On playing against Bryant as a teen: “I got to play him at an All-American camp when I was in high school. He was the Class of ’96 and I was the Class of ’95. I played him at a five-star camp at the Adidas ABCD Camp and through AAU tournaments because he was from Pennsylvania and I was from Connecticut … I went to college in ’96 and I started seeing these commercials with Kobe in them doing these fancy dribbling moves. He’s 6’6″ and going to the prom with Brandy. Then he was being drafted into the NBA and I’m like, ‘Where the hell did this happen?’ He grew three inches over the summer and was dunking all over people.”
On Bryant’s ability to play fearlessly: “That’s why he became who he became. He had no conscience or fear for taking huge risks… Just crazy talent and I’m honored to be able to say I played against him 4-5 times in high school.”
On Bryant and his daughter’s passing:
“The worst part is with his daughter. She was gonna be an amazing, amazing basketball player… It’s one of those deals where the whole day just had the air sucked out of it. Wrestling was a good distraction for me because I was able to get it out of my head a little bit.”