“Kobe Bryant?! Wow, not another member of the class of ’96!?!” This was one of the thoughts that ran through my head when my wife called me about the death of Kobe Bryant while driving home from a weekend with eight classmates from 1996 in my hometown of Hemingway, S.C.
Let’s not get it twisted. I never met Kobe and he was not my favorite Laker but there is forever a connection with Kobe in that he was a member of the class of 1996 and my respect for him.
When Kobe announced that he was going to the NBA out of high school, I thought, “Wow, that’s someone graduating like us going to the NBA!