Kobe Bryant's Mindset Is Good Example For Young Players, Dana Barros Says
BOSTON (CBS) -- NBA all-star and former Boston Celtics Dana Barros teaches his players at the Dana Barros Basketball Club in Stoughton to work hard and never give up. As the world mourns the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, Barros said he remembers seeing Kobe play as a senior in high school in Pennsylvania when Barros was playing the sixers.
"He came and worked out at Saint Joseph's. It was a major problem for everyone in the NBA. He came into the gym and gave it to everybody," Barros recalled.
The two maintained a very cordial relationship on the court. They played against each other for about eight years.
"No one played with the ferocity he played with. He called me the Philly killer, he would always come up to me and interact with me, even when I wasn't playing, I was hurt I would be on the bench. I admired him for that."
Much like Bryant, Barros dedicated his life to helping kids through his state of the art basketball club in Stoughton. Barros said he used to watch the youtube channel of Kobe coaching his daughter. "He was such a giving person so I admired what he was doing with his girls. He had, actually I think it was an eight-court facility he had built in California and was doing the same thing we are doing over here, just enriching kids with basketball information," Barros said.
Players at the Dana Barros Basketball Club are grabbing hold of the lessons both on and off the court. "You can't take anything for granted. He was an amazing basketball player, he trained hard every day," one girl said.
"He was such a big thing for the game of basketball. It's just a tragedy," a boy added. "Work hard, consistency really pays off."
Barros said Bryant's untimely death reminds him of how vulnerable we are and whatever you do in life, give it your all. "That's the mentality I would teach to anyone doing anything in life, not just basketball. If you want it, just go get it, be ferocious about it. Don't let anyone get in your way. Don't let anyone stand in your way," Barros said.