Kobe Bryant – Rest in Peace

Kobe Bryant – Rest in Peace

1/26/2020

by Brian Coll – photos by Jack Coll

Damn…. This hits home for a number of reasons. First of all, most of you are wondering why is Conshystuff even writing about Kobe Bryant…. well, Kobe and Conshohocken go back into the mid 90’s when he was tearing up the Albert C. Donofrio Tournament which showcases some of the best high school talent on the east coast and that of course included Kobe Bryant.

Before we go any further, we are thinking of your family Kobe.

I was a little older than Kobe when I watched him play on the courts in Conshohocken and at 16-17 years old, he was a man among boys, and that is saying something because there is always some amazing talent at the Donofrio Tourney. Even the years he played some of the other players in those years included but not limited to Donnie Carr (who won co-MVP honors with Kobe in 1995) and actually Donnie went onto win co MVP honors the following year with a teammate of Kobe’s named Patrick Sanders. Other guys in the Donofrio Tourney at that time were Abdul Collier, Marvin O’Connor, Malik Allen. And in 1994 a guy who went onto star in the NFL out of Upper Merion named Brad Scioli won MVP honors.

Of course all of the chatter in the stands (packed house back in the day) was that this kid was going pro, when high schoolers could still go pro without touching college. He was something else. A generational talent and we were lucky enough to have him grace our courts and grow up in a neighboring community. For years I worked at a restaurant on the main line and for just about 20 years, people would talk about Kobe… when he was back in the area for a visit, when he was helping the local schools out. His high school jersey was framed on the walls where I worked and I’m sure that wasn’t the only place to honor him in some way.

Listen, if you want his stats, I’m sure ESPN has them, if you want his net worth, I’m sure you can look it up somewhere. If you want to hear that he was drafted by Charlotte and played his entire career with the Lakers and he broke our heart in 2001.. yeah he did that. The video I’ll remember most of his, isn’t his final game, him winning championships all over the place, isn’t any of his all star games, it was him with his little baby going crazy when the Eagles won the Super Bowl a couple of years ago.

My heart breaks for his family and I still don’t know all of the details, but there is a family that he meant the world to and now he is gone.

Rest in Peace Kobe, Conshy won’t forget your fearless play in the Donofrio Tournament all those years ago.