High School Record

High school


Bryant's retired No.33 jersey and banner at the Lower Merion High School gym.
Bryant earned national recognition during a spectacular high school career at Lower Merion High School located in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion. As a freshman, he played for the varsity basketball team.[10] His father coached him his second year of high school. Although during his first year the team was mediocre, the following three years the Aces compiled a 77–13 record, with Bryant playing all five positions.[10] During his junior year, he averaged 31.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists and was named Pennsylvania Player of the Year.[11] College recruiters from across the country were lined up to recruit him after his breakout year; however, when Kevin Garnett went in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft, he began considering going directly to the pros.[11] At Adidas ABCD camp, Bryant earned the 1995 senior MVP award,[12] while playing alongside future NBA teammate Lamar Odom.[13] While in high school, then 76ers coach John Lucas invited Bryant to work out and scrimmage with the team, where he played one-on-one with Jerry Stackhouse.[14] In his senior year of high school, Bryant led the Aces to their first state championship in 53 years. During the run, he averaged 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals, and 3.8 blocked shots in leading the Aces to a 31–3 record.[15] He ended his career as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all-time leading scorer at 2,883 points, surpassing both Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons.[16] Bryant received several awards for his performance his senior year including being named Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gatorade Men's National Basketball Player of the Year, a McDonald's All-American, and a USA Today All-USA First Team player.[17] Bryant's varsity coach, Greg Downer, commented that Bryant was "a complete player who dominates".[15] In 1996, Bryant took R&B singer Brandy Norwood to her senior prom,[18] though the two were, and remain, just friends. Ultimately, however, the 17-year-old Bryant made the decision to go directly into the NBA, only the sixth player in NBA history to do so.[10] Bryant's news was met with a lot of publicity at a time when prep-to-pro NBA players were not very common (Garnett being the only exception in 20 years).[10] His SAT score of 1080[19] would have ensured his basketball scholarship to various top-tier colleges and has stated that had he decided to go to college after high school, he would have attended Duke University.[20] In 2012, Bryant was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.[21]

Source: Wiki