Kansas Jayhawks players ‘have grown up idolizing Kobe,’ coach Bill Self said Sunday
Kansas Jayhawks coach Bill Self joined members of the basketball community worldwide in expressing sadness Sunday night after learning of the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash Sunday in Calabasas, California.
“I grew up idolizing Larry (Bird) and Magic (Johnson). Our players since I’ve been here have grown up idolizing Kobe,” 17th-year KU coach Self told The Star in a text message. “Everyone respected his talent, competitive spirit and the difference he made and was going to make in people’s lives moving forward. A very sad time for so many and everyone that follows our sport.”
Bryant was teammate of Chenowith
Former Kansas center Eric Chenowith, who was at L.A.’s NBA training camp with the Bryant-led Lakers in 2003, told The Star: “I can’t think of anything worse than what’s happened today.
“The entire Newport Beach community (where Chenowith lives with his wife and son) is absolutely devastated. People have been absolutely rocked by the news. One of the game’s greatest players and a great father is gone.”
Chenowith was cut after playing for the Lakers during the 2003 preseason.
Chenowith knew another person who died in the helicopter crash that claimed the life of Bryant and Bryant’s daughter: John Altobelli, the baseball coach at Orange Coast College. Altobelli died in the crash, as did Altobelli’s wife, Keri Altobelli, and their 13-year-old daughter, Alyssa.
“I took a class from coach Altobelli when I was finishing my degree at KU. He was a great person — a legend out here,” Chenowith said.
Christina Mauser, an assistant girls basketball coach at Harbor Day School in Corona Del Mar, California, also died in the crash. Chenowith did not know Mauser but said the Newport Beach area also was rocked by her death.
“This has taken the air out of a community,” Chenowith said. “I saw families today that had children that went to Harbor Day and they all were distraught.”
