He soon developed the "hands like Magic's," the attacking game like Jordan's, the jump shot like Larry Bird, and the desire of Doctor J. the stars of that era had a profound affect on his game. As he grew older and went to high school he was already becoming famous in his then home town of Philadelphia. Playing like those he idealized, gave him the recognition he needed to .
make the controversial decision to skip college and go straight to the NBA. .
For Kobe life outside of basketball wasn't always easy. He was a good student maintaining a 3.0 GPA, but struggled to find common ground with his classmates. In Italy he had been sheltered from many of the temptations and pressured faced by teenagers in the U.S. naturally quiet and reserved he got a crash course in dealing with the daily dramas or high school hallways. As a junior he averaged 31.1 points per game, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists and was names Pennsylvania player of the year. Also this was the year that Kobe unveiled his devastating crossover dribble. Basketball lovers from around the country came to see Kobe play. Scalpers were getting up to 100$ a ticket, and hundreds of people stood in line in his locker room to receive his autograph as if he was Michael Jordan. After this season the soon to be senior was greeted by every college in the country, because of his above 3.0 GPA, 1100 SAT score and dominant basketball skills.
Kobe Bryant, at age 18, made history by becoming the youngest player to play professional basketball. Once in the league, there was a gap between what the press made him out to be and what Kobe was really like. Despite the myths the media put out on hi, Kobe was not the typical basketball star. He choose hard work and practice over girls and partying. He mostly kept to himself and did not partake in off the court activities with his teammates, instead he spent time by himself working out, or spending time reading the bible.
