Took me less than 30 seconds of watching Kobe in a high school game to know that West was taking the Hornets to the cleaners. Bryant's footwork, balance, mechanics, the release on his shot that we saw in the pros, was already there, just lacking polish.

I go wrong in trusting that some players will put in the prerequisite work to get to the next level. Shump and Fields were more concerned with their brands than their game, should have factored that in.

Kobe was different because you could already see greatness in him, even back then. Not saying he did everything right, but he was one of the greats.