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basketball Edit

Cal players and coaches react to the death of Kobe Bryant

Before I write my recaps from today’s doubleheader at Haas Pavilion, I want to first address the elephant in the room. Or rather, the mamba in the room. NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among nine people that were confirmed dead in a helicopter crash earlier today in Calabasas, California. The news broke shortly before the Cal women’s game against Colorado. Before the Cal men’s game against Stanford, there was a moment of silence honoring Bryant and his career.

After both games, Cal players along with head coaches Mark Fox and Charmin Smith expressed their thoughts on the tragedy and what Kobe meant to the game of basketball. Rather than trying to weave their quotes into game recaps, I felt it would be easier to share them in a separate post. I want to also express my deepest condolences to all affected by this tragedy. Quotes are below.

“Yeah, this is really tough. We just got the news about Kobe and his daughter. We wanted to tell our team so they weren’t hearing it elsewhere and it’s a really tough moment just because you realize life is short and we talked in the locker room about how it’s not wins and losses, but it’s relationships and how we treat one another and how we show up for one another because you never know. So, talk about gaining some perspective…I did not know Kobe. [My initial reaction was] sick to my stomach.”-Charmin Smith

“So, I did just meet him this past summer. I was working at a tournament that his team was playing at. Met his daughter and everything. I did get to talk to him about how he is evolving and changing the game of basketball for women and it’s just a lot to process right now.”-Leilani Mcintosh

“It’s very sad seeing that Kobe passed being that he was a legend and how many players he’s impacted. Basketball growing up, Kobe was my Jordan. But it was a hard pill to swallow for me.”-Paris Austin

“I grew up watching Kobe. Kobe was one of my favorite players growing up and it was really shocking. It’s really hard to kind of absorb right now. It still doesn’t really feel real because he was such an inspiration. His work ethic was insane and it’s just a tragic, tragic story that happened.”-Kareem South

“Let me begin by sharing our condolences and our thoughts and our prayers with everyone that was involved in the crash today. Certainly Kobe and his daughter and their family, but also the other victims in the crash. Because everybody is suffering and it’s just awful when things like this occur in life. Our thoughts and our prayers are with them because you don’t wish that on anybody. It’s just a tragedy and certainly I think we all have heavy hearts because of it.

“I did. I met with our team soon before we came up to start stretching for the game. And I just sat them down and talked to them about, I knew that Kobe was the one that maybe, is maybe the reason why they fell in love with basketball. A few years ago my dad passed away and I had a choice whether I should coach the game or not. I chose to coach because that is what my dad would have expected me to do. And so, I just sat them down and I talked about how I know they must be hurting, but Kobe was a great competitor and he would expect you to compete and you should honor him with your effort and I think they did just that.”-Mark Fox

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