Kobe Bryant: A Relic from Another Age

In 1996, Bill Clinton was president, Michael Jordan was fresh off his fourth championship with the Chicago Bulls, I was an infant, and Kobe Bryant was picked 13^th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA draft. Twenty years later, Barack Obama is wrapping up his second term as president, Michael Jordan has been retired for twelve years, I am in college, and Kobe Bryant is playing his final season in the NBA.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bryanko01.html Kobe’s Career stats

Kobe has had a remarkable career, and his impact on the NBA is undeniable. He was the first guard drafted out of High school, won five NBA championships, made 15 straight all-star teams and played all 20 of his years in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers. But the NBA has been changing around Kobe. The Seattle Supersonics moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder, the New Jersey Nets moved to Brooklyn, the Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans, Charlotte was granted a new team called the Bobcats who then became the Hornets, and the New Orleans Hornets became the Pelicans.

The way the game is played has changed as well. Gone are players like Michael Jordan, and players like Steph Curry and LeBron James have taken over, the Bulls’ triangle offense has been replaced by the three point shooting of the Warriors (NBA.com). Many superstars have risen and fallen throughout Kobe’s career: Michael Jordan said farewell in 2003, Allen Iverson had his famous practice rant the year before, and the previous year lost to Bryant’s Lakers in the NBA finals. LeBron James burst onto the scene in 2003, and led the dynastic Miami Heat to back to back championships in 2012-13, and in 2009, Steph Curry came into the NBA, and marked a shift in the game, as his three point shooting began to take the league by storm and led to his Golden State Warriors to a victory in the 2015 NBA finals.

Kobe’s bread and butter has always been his mid-range shooting and there is little doubt he was one of the best at it in his day. Kobe’s finest hour might well have been the 2005-2006 season, where he averaged 35.4 points per game, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan as the only scoring champion to average at least 35 points a game. That however, was 10 years ago, now Kobe is 37 years old, past his prime, and more of a liability than an asset. Now, a new breed of superstars is rising, led by Stephen Curry and his absurd 3-point shooting percentage

Kobe in his prime (left) vs. Stephen Curry now (right)

Kobe Bryant has truly had an amazing career. His five titles are certainly impressive, but his most notable stat is the length of his career, nineteen seasons. He has inspired a generation of young NBA fans, and left a mark on the game which will never be forgotten.

charts courtesy five thirty eight sports

featured image courtesy bet.com

special thanks to Lucas Anholzer with his help in research

Cottrell, Kevin, Jr. “Warriors’ Hot Start Conjures up Possibilities of 70 Wins.”NBA.com. N.p., 19 Nov. 2015. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.

Goldsberry, Kirk. “An Ode To Kobe Bryant, In Two Charts.” Five Thirty Eight Sports. N.p., 30 Nov. 2015. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

Morris, Benjamin. “Stephen Curry Is The Revolution.” Five Thirty Eight Sports. N.p., 3 Dec. 2015. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

Paine, Neil. “Once And For All: Michael Jordan Was Way Better Than Kobe Bryant.” Five Thirty Eight Sports. N.p., 12 Dec. 2014. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

Homeschooler in the Real World

Emma Folts, a sophomore at Wheaton College, shares her experience about her transition into college and how homeschool has both helped and hindered her.
How has your homeschool experience benefitted you, especially in your transition into college?
I think the one thing that homeschooling did that was really helpful as I entered college was that it taught me time management. As a homeschooler I had the same freedom as a college student has to put things off during the day and go see a friend instead. Since I had that experience, I knew the cost of that.
Also, personal responsibility and accountability with assignments. I feel like a lot of the other students had more expectations for gentler grading and that the professor would give them retakes or extensions, but that wasn’t something that ever happened to me in school. That learning curve wasn’t added because I never had it the other way. I think another thing was that because I was homeschooled, I was familiar with the format of teaching and then studying on my own.
Did you see any issues with your transition socially?
I think that homeschooling had two ramifications for me socially. One was helpful, one was hurtful.
It was really helpful because as a homeschooler, I had spent a lot of time realizing and developing who I was as a person and learning to recognize people who were being themselves, and those were the people I sought out as friends. Friendship as a homeschooler takes a lot more investment. I knew I was choosier with my friends which made me a lot less anxious and a lot more content.
The only real negative impact of the social bit was that I was really used to getting to choose the time I got to spend with people. As a homeschooler I spent a lot of time with people, but that time was controlled by me. As a college student, I found that you can’t really control the time you spend with people and alone time is not really available. Learning to deal with that was a lot harder than anticipated.
Any last comments on homeschool and how it has affected your college experience?
I think homeschooling is really helpful, however it does take a slightly increased amount of advocacy with your peers when you’re entering into college. I think a lot of people come in with certain assumptions about homeschool, especially students. You’re going to get a lot of, ‘oh my gosh, you don’t seem like a homeschooled person!’ [You can’t] take that too personally and explain your experience so that friends can understand it’s an important piece of you, though it might not look like the homeschooling that they’ve seen.
My encouragement to anyone who is a homeschooler transitioning into college is to realize the benefit that you have having been homeschooled, and to realize that the bit of advocacy and explaining that you need to do with your peers is totally normal and that it’s not a big deal. Once they understand your experience, it’s not something I’ve experienced being looked down on for.