The RoundHouse | 1/27/2020 5:47:00 PM
Wichita State freshman
Grant Sherfield heard the news and needed to go to the most fitting place – the gym.
Former NBA star Kobe Bryant died on Sunday morning and the news hit basketball fans hard. For the Shockers – men and women – it hit especially hard. Bryant – his Mamba swagger, his jump shot, his Nike shoes – is the superstar of their generation.
Sherfield, out with his family for breakfast, came to Koch Arena to work on his game and his emotions. That, in keeping with Bryant's famous work ethic, made sense.
"I went to the gym and just tried to shoot it off," he said. "Being one of my favorite players of all-time, it hurt. It hurt everybody in my family, being die-hard Laker fans."
Bryant, 41, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California along with daughter Gianna, 13, and seven others. Gianna is the second of Bryant's four daughters and they were on their way to her basketball game on Sunday.
"I was mad, I was sad," said
Seraphine Bastin, a sophomore guard on the Wichita State women's basketball team. "It's so sad for his family."
Many of the Shockers posted their memories and condolences on social media. When they talk about Bryant, they inevitably mention the "Mamba mentality," his trademark for a ruthless work ethic and playing style. Shocker guard
Erik Stevenson wore Bryant's Nikes growing up and admired his devotion to extra shooting and conditioning. Connor Shank, a student manager, wore a Bryant No. 8 jersey during Monday's practice.
"He impacted me growing up, being one of those guys you look up to," Stevenson said. "The biggest thing that stood out was his mentality, how he attacked every day, every workout, every game, every practice."
Bryant played 20 seasons in the NBA, all with the Lakers. He won five titles and earned All-NBA honors 15 times.
"He was really inspirational," Shocker senior guard
Maya Brewer said. "He was so in love with the game. He practiced like he was the 12th man."
Wichita State coach
Gregg Marshall saw Bryant play, in a tournament in South Carolina, as a star at Philadelphia's Lower Merion High School. He groups Bryant with Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett as the top players he's seen in person in high school.
"He was such a fluid athlete," Marshall said. "And, just like the other two that I mentioned, he had that fire, that 'I want to win every possession. I want to dominate this thing.' There wasn't any 'I want to be pretty good.'"
Wichita State sophomore
Morris Udeze, from Houston, grew up a fan of the Houston Rockets. That led to a complicated relationship with Bryant, whose Lakers eliminated the Rockets in the 2009 playoffs in seven games.
"I used to hate Kobe," Udeze said. "Then, during his retirement tour, I was like 'I can't hate this guy. He's too good.' After that time, I started watching him and loving the Mamba mentality, how he goes about his business. He's a warrior."
Wichita State sophomore forward
Dexter Dennis, who sometimes wears a Kobe Bryant jersey to games, admired how Bryant persevered through ups and downs early in his NBA career. In 1997, Bryant, 18, shot four air balls in the final minutes of a playoff loss at Utah.
"Kobe meant almost everything to me," Dennis said. "His story, how he came up. He learned a lot. He stayed in the gym. A guy who shows you what hard work, determination and leadership look like."
Bryant's advocacy for women's basketball stood out to the women at Wichita State.
The Shockers saw him at WNBA games and it mattered to them that he cared about women's basketball. Before the 2017 women's Final Four, he sent pep-talk videos to UConn and Stanford, schools that share his association with Nike. In 2018, Bryant brought his family to the women's Final Four to watch UConn play Notre Dame.
"Taking time to pass on what he's already experienced so that it would benefit their game," Brewer said.
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
