On a typical friday evening, students pack the gym and stand on the wobbling bleachers to cheer on their home basketball team. The gym rumbles with each shot and the crowd holds their breath at each free throw. The players focus only on the ball and ignore the advancing drip of sweat on their brow. It is interesting to contemplate that NBA basketball players experienced the same tension in highschool and continue to face it each day. What gave them that extra edge in highschool to inspire them to play professional basketball?
Many players aspire to be like players in the NBA and achieve the same success. Student athletes set goals and use the professionals of their sport as role models of who they can potentially become.
“Kobe Bryant was an inspiration in my life. He changed the game of basketball and the culture around it. Kobe inspired me to go to the gym to get better,” said senior Connor Kochera, varsity basketball player and division one recruit.
Kobe Bryant, a legendary NBA player who recently passed away on Jan. 26, scored a total of 33,643 points during his career and was a prime example of the role model high school athletes need. Not only did Kobe