Junior Camacho was raised as a die-hard Lakers fan; as a kid, he sat on the couch with his dad and watched every game, paying special attention to Kobe Bryant.
When Camacho wasn’t watching the games, he was outside mimicking Bryant’s signature moves to the best of his 5-year-old body’s ability.
On Sunday, Camacho saw Bryant on TV once again, but this time his emotions were much different.
“I broke down and started crying,” said Camacho, who plays basketball for Valencia High School.
Kobe Bryant and several other people, including his daughter Gianna, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas on Sunday morning. Bryant was 41 and his daughter was 13.
The Santa Clarita Valley prep basketball community, along with the basketball community as a whole, is grieving the loss. Some coaches, like Saugus boys coach Alfredo Manzano, were too emotional to speak when contacted for interview.
“His mentality was just great,” Camacho said. “I loved his work ethic and he never backed down. Even if something bad happened, he fought through it and kept going … I worked on the same moves just to be like him and try to get the same work ethic.”
Vikings coach Bill Bedgood sent a group text message to his team as soon as he heard of Bryant’s death. Growing up, Bedgood watched Michael Jordan and recognized the similar role that Bryant took on for his players.
“For the generation of players I coach, it’s been Kobe,” Bedgood said. “Kobe was that huge star that everybody wanted to shoot like and play like and be like. When he changed his number from 8 to 24 guys were so excited because they could wear his number on a high school team.”
Golden Valley girls basketball coach Sixx Johnson had the opportunity to play basketball against Bryant, who had freshly moved to L.A., at Balboa Park when they were both 17 years old.
Although his NBA career wasn’t full-fledged quite yet, Johnson got to experience Bryant’s competitive nature firsthand.
“He was really confident, you could see it then,” Johnson said. “He was on another level. He walked around with that chip on his shoulder and you knew he was a competitor. You could tell he was always about business and wanted to dominate anyone who was in front of him in the court.”
Johnson also admired what Bryant was beginning to do for the prep basketball community, whether it was coaching Gianna’s team or opening Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks.
“Just being a fan of sports and the fan of fathers in their kids’ lives,” Johnson said, “I thought that was huge to have that facility fairly locally. It was huge what he was doing for the sport. It was going to get even bigger as time went on … It just sucks that we had to miss out on such a promising first phase of (Gianna’s) life and second phase of Kobe’s life.”
Hart boys basketball’s Ty Penberthy had the opportunity to work out at the Mamba Sports Academy every day this summer and said that it was a pristine facility that Bryant had worked had to develop.
Penberthy’s father, Mike, was a teammate of Bryant’s on the Lakers. Penberthy had a few interactions with Bryant growing up and head stories from Mike about his competitiveness.
“Tons of stories of him in practice just competing and going at it and he did everything he could to win,” Penberthy said. “On the court, he was a competitive and off the court he was a great guy.”
Camacho will never see Bryant on live television again. He’ll never see his vision for prep basketball come to fruition. But he’ll also never be able to shed the work ethic and skills that were inspired by his idol.
Nearly three months after Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant and his daughter died in a tragic helicopter crash, surviving family members of other passengers on board sued the company that operated the aircraft.
As thousands gathered at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday to celebrate NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others who died in a helicopter crash last month, Kobe’s wife Vanessa Bryant filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that operated the helicopter.
LOS ANGELES (CN) – Thousands of mourners gathered at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday to commemorate NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year old daughter Gianna and seven others who were killed when their helicopter crashed in the Santa Monica Mountains last month.
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I was at home when I heard the news, around 8pm GMT. I’d just sat down on the sofa for a rest and opened the Instagram app to see a photo of Kobe Bryant and something like ‘RIP to the greatest’ from another NBA player. I was a bit confused, but didn’t want to make any assumptions to opened BBC News where the headline was ‘NBA Legend Kobe Bryant dies in helicopter crash’.
It’s the first time in my life that I’ve been saddened to the brink of tears on hearing of the death of somebody I never met.
When I was younger a family friend got me into basketball. It’s not that big in the UK. At the time Michael Jordan was at his prime and I loved watching Michael play. Then I remember seeing a young kid – who probably looked the same age as me at the time, ~13 – playing for the LA Lakers and that was it, from that moment on I was a Lakers and Kobe fan.
Since my mid-teens he’s been my idol. He was the greatest player ever to me, and really seems to be a good guy away from the game too.
Island Pacific Santa Clarita is gearing up for a celebration of National Lumpia Day with a lumpia-eating contest on Saturday, March 15, from 3-6:30 p.m.
In support of “Making Water Conservation a California Way of Life,” the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency is developing a Water Use Efficiency Strategic Plan to establish a comprehensive water conservation strategy.
The Michael Hoefflin Foundation for Children’s Cancer invites the community to join the annual "Walk 4 MHF Help Kids Fight Cancer" to help raise awareness and support local families affected by childhood cancer.
After the January wildfires, the county began a review to assess our evacuation policies and emergency alert systems. The state has also commissioned a review of our preparedness efforts, immediate response to the fires and the recovery time frame of the incident.
Island Pacific Santa Clarita is gearing up for a celebration of National Lumpia Day with a lumpia-eating contest on Saturday, March 15, from 3-6:30 p.m.
After a successful pilot program in the Saugus Union School District, School Day Café has expanded the use of a new, eco-friendly serving tray option across all Santa Clarita Valley elementary schools.
In support of “Making Water Conservation a California Way of Life,” the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency is developing a Water Use Efficiency Strategic Plan to establish a comprehensive water conservation strategy.
The Michael Hoefflin Foundation for Children’s Cancer invites the community to join the annual "Walk 4 MHF Help Kids Fight Cancer" to help raise awareness and support local families affected by childhood cancer.
The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society has announced that the St. Francis Dam Tour scheduled for Saturday, March 15 has been postponed until Saturday, April 26.
The city of Santa Clarita is enhancing local roadways with the upcoming 2024-2025 Citywide Major Thoroughfare Median Refurbishment Project on Plum Canyon Road.
The Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center is preparing for the annual fundraising Celebrity Waiter Dinner to be held Saturday, April 26 at the Bella Vida Senior Center.
The Soroptimist International of Greater Santa Clarita Valley 16th Annual Wine Affair: Wine, Beer and Cheer Big Hat Bash will be held Sunday, April 6 on Main Street in Old Town Newhall from noon to 5 p.m.
The city of Santa Clarita's art exhibition, "Saddle Up Santa Clarita" will run through Wednesday, May 14 at Santa Clarita City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd., Valencia, CA 91355.
The William S. Hart Union High School District has announced that 10 high school seniors have been named National Merit Scholarship Finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.
The Master's University Theater Arts presents 'The Importance of Being Earnest' by Oscar Wilde Fridays and Saturdays, March 21-29 at The Master's University, Music Recital Hall at 24736 Quigley Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91321.
Beginning Monday, March 17, at 6 a.m., Jet will be hosting “Jet into Work,” on 88.5-FM, The SoCal Sound which will lend a fun and upbeat start to listeners’ mornings.
Safely dispose of household hazardous waste and electronic waste for free 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. Saturday, April 5 at the College of the Canyons Valencia Campus, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.
The Music Center has announced 113 of Southern California’s most talented high school students have advanced in The Music Center’s 37th Annual Spotlight program, which includes three students from the Santa Clarita Valley.
The track and field teams at The Master's University began their 2025 outdoor campaign at the Occidental Spring Break Classic on Saturday, March 8. Multiple qualifiers were added and a school record fell in the men's 4x100m relay.
Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo has announced the introduction of the Roads to Resilience Act, AB 1132, a piece of legislation designed to prioritize the needs of communities disproportionately impacted by climate disasters.
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1 Comment
I was at home when I heard the news, around 8pm GMT. I’d just sat down on the sofa for a rest and opened the Instagram app to see a photo of Kobe Bryant and something like ‘RIP to the greatest’ from another NBA player. I was a bit confused, but didn’t want to make any assumptions to opened BBC News where the headline was ‘NBA Legend Kobe Bryant dies in helicopter crash’.
It’s the first time in my life that I’ve been saddened to the brink of tears on hearing of the death of somebody I never met.
When I was younger a family friend got me into basketball. It’s not that big in the UK. At the time Michael Jordan was at his prime and I loved watching Michael play. Then I remember seeing a young kid – who probably looked the same age as me at the time, ~13 – playing for the LA Lakers and that was it, from that moment on I was a Lakers and Kobe fan.
Since my mid-teens he’s been my idol. He was the greatest player ever to me, and really seems to be a good guy away from the game too.