LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – It was an emotional pregame for the University of Louisville women’s basketball team, as it was for many teams tasked with tipping off after learning the news of Kobe Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning just outside Los Angeles.
Cardinals coach Jeff Walz told his players before their game against Pittsburgh, and said some were visibly upset. They’d had a brush with Bryant just 15 days ago, when he Tweeted a photo of himself and his daughter Gianna, with Louisville signee Hailey Van Lith, all of them holding their “L’s” up after a game in Cashmere, Wash. Later, Walz and his players would learn of reports that Gianna also died in the crash.
“Such a tragic event today,” Walz said. “Kobe has been remarkable for women’s basketball. It was just two weeks ago they went up to see Hailey play. It’s hard to put into words now. . . . It’s awful. I feel for his wife and his other children. It’s not so much about what he’s done for basketball, it’s about family. I have four children myself. Just for anyone to have to deal with that, you wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
Bryant had been a great supporter of his daughter’s basketball aspirations, and reportedly was on his way to a Mamba Academy event with others when his helicopter crashed. He had founded his Mamba Sports Academy to help young male and female athletes develop their skills, and had been a vocal fan of women’s basketball in particular.
He used his sizable Twitter and Instagram platforms to praise good performances by women’s players, and took his daughter to women’s pro and college games. In Corvallis, Oregon, on Sunday, the Oregon and Oregon State basketball teams huddled together during a pregame moment of silence. Bryant and Gianna had visited with the Oregon team, and with the team at UConn in 2017.
Oregon point guard Sabrina Ionescu had developed a friendship with Bryant and his daughter over the past year, and was too overcome to be a part of the pregame gathering. Later, she told ESPN: “Really close friend, and this season is for him.”
Walz said, “Just grateful for what he has meant to basketball, and his courage to support the women’s game and put that out there. . . . We had a couple of players who were devastated before the game. But we talked about Kobe . . . and how he played, and the best way to pay your respects is to go out and bust your tail. All of our players were a little shaken, but I was proud of how they came out and played.”
Louisville went on to win its game 83-49.
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