04-11-2014, 11:16 AM
Publius, I think Kobe's observation is on the mark.
As for role models, Kobe was pretty high up there until he had the Colorado Incident . . . which I will forever cynically view as his attempt to gain "street cred." IIRC, Kobe was never fully embraced by the hardscrabble hoops community because he was raised in upper middle class family and was well educated (n/w/s going directly from HS to the NBA). Didn't he spend time in Europe (Italy or France) and speak the language fluently? That didn't help on the street cred front, either.
As for role models, Kobe was pretty high up there until he had the Colorado Incident . . . which I will forever cynically view as his attempt to gain "street cred." IIRC, Kobe was never fully embraced by the hardscrabble hoops community because he was raised in upper middle class family and was well educated (n/w/s going directly from HS to the NBA). Didn't he spend time in Europe (Italy or France) and speak the language fluently? That didn't help on the street cred front, either.