ANN ARBOR, MI — Michigan head coach Juwan Howard spent much of his Monday press conference talking about NBA brethren Kobe Bryant, who passed away tragically Sunday in a helicopter accident.
His statement:
“It’s tough. It really is. Tough for the basketball world; the basketball community. It’s very challenging for the Bryant family and the other families that were lost in this tragic situation. When you talk about Kobe Bryant, being in the basketball community, especially the NBA, the NBA is a family. You come through that world, Kobe becomes one of your brothers. He’s like a brother to me and many others.
“It’s a big loss to our family. My wife was very emotional. It’s been an emotional time for our family, because he was a hero and an icon to us all. My kids looked up to him. One of my boys, that was his favorite player growing up. Still is. Kobe was one of my favorite players growing up. I was older than Kobe, but I respected Kobe, how he approached the game of basketball. His work ethic was like no other. He reminds me of No. 23, Michael Jordan, in so many ways. I‘ve had the chance myself personally to get to know Michael, become friends with Michael. I saw a lot of Kobe in Michael.
“As we all know, five-time NBA champ, which is very hard to do. Twenty years in the NBA, goes to show you about his level of toughness when a guy tears his Achilles, goes to the free throw line, makes the free throws then walks off the court himself. It shows you how he’s wired. I’m not going to allow a stretcher or anyone to carry me off. I’m going to walk off on my own. That’s real toughness.
“When you hear the word toughness, obviously Kobe’s name has to come to mind. When you hear a situation like this what happened with Kobe and GiGi [daughter Gianna] and others, from a father, I can only imagine what his family is going through. Nobody wants to experience anything like that.
“It’s been a very difficult time for all of us. Kobe meant a lot to us, not only just in the basketball world, but he was inspiring to many folks. The guy won an Oscar. Think about that. He has winning built within his DNA. He’s wired differently. Five-time champion, 18-time all-star, All NBA first team for 11 years, two-time Finals MVP and you win an Oscar. Then … also part of Bodyarmor, and Bodyarmor blew up like no other. He’s part owner of that. To write stories, books, inspire kids, head coach of your daughter’s basketball team, and she had a lot of Kobe’s DNA in her, too … I watched film on social media, 13 years old and she’s doing that?”
Howard noted that Gianna was already earning interest from Oregon and UConn and had a great future. He also recalled crossing paths with Bryant once when Howard first started coaching with the Miami Heat.
“At the Staples Center you cross the home team locker room to get to the visiting team locker room. I saw Kobe, crossing paths, said, ‘how long are you going to end up playing for?’ He said, ‘until I win two more championships. I think this is probably what, his 17thyear … the guy didn’t say, ‘I want to play until my 20thyear. He said, ‘until I win two more championships.’
“That’s how he was wired. He had a quest to break Michael Jordan’s NBA Finals championship record, six. He wanted seven. That’s how good he was. He was a great basketball player, great father, great man.”
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