Coach K Reflects on Kobe Bryant

Duke coach won two Olympic golds with deceased superstar

Mike Krzyzewski recruited Kobe Bryant to play at Duke before the future Hall of Famer chose to bypass college and enter the NBA Draft coming out of high school. Coach K later got to coach Kobe to two Olympic gold medals on the U.S. National Team.

Coach K took time to reflect on his relationship with Bryant on the one-year anniversary of his death, Tuesday.

“Unless you’re living in a hole or a cave, you’ve probably seen a lot today, and if you follow Instagram, Twitter, all the sports stuff, there are so many tributes,” he said. “It’s amazing how many people he touched in such a deep way, me included. Remember, this generation of players, too. He and now LeBron (James) he was the (Michael) Jordan for these young guys. Not that Michael’s become extinct or anything. A lot of my guys were wearing Kobe’s shoes today, and shirts and stuff like that. He was idolized. For me to have an opportunity to coach him twice, actually times—qualifying tournament too—we had a good relationship because of the Olympics. I had a really good relationship with him And so did my wife, Mickie. And so did our kids and their kids because in Beijing we interacted. My grandchildren and his girls ... I can remember in one of the eating rooms where my two granddaughters were, Kobe came up and kissed them on the hand and called them each a princess. He had that way. You start crying really when you (think about it). What a tragedy. It’s hard to believe it’s been one year, too. What a loss. I reflected quite a bit on him.”