'Couldn't Believe It': West Philadelphia Students Heartbroken After Hearing of Kobe Bryant's Death Less Than Year After He Visited School
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Kobe Bryant touched the lives of many student-athletes in the Delaware Valley. In March of 2019, Bryant surprised students at Andrew Hamilton School in West Philadelphia.
Those students now say they are heartbroken and shocked after hearing the news of the basketball legend's tragic death.
"I couldn't believe it. I was shocked. It was crazy how we just met him and now he's gone," Braheem Gindraw said.
Braheem and JaJa Creary walked the late great former NBA champion Kobe Bryant into Andrew Hamilton School's auditorium.
Just 10 months later, the 18-time NBA all-star player and author died tragically along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash.
"I was just depressed and quiet all day. Everybody in the house just kept asking me are you okay? I was like I'm alright. I just wanted to stay to myself," JaJa said.
The news out of California hit these two West Philadelphia best friends hard because they sat next to Bryant as eighth-graders at Andrew Hamilton Public School.
Bryant was in town in March promoting his new young adult fantasy novel, "The Wizenard Series: Training Camp."
Of course, he had to shout out his hometown of Philadelphia.
"We make the best basketball players. We make the best well-rounded individuals," Bryant said during the visit.
JaJa and Braheem were picked because they are both players with the Philadelphia Youth Basketball Association.
They met up close and personal with Bryant.
"Talking, really socializing with him. You can really connect and you can see the energy coming off him like he's very positive," JaJa said.
Bryant later sent them gear like a T-shirt but they say his message meant so much more.
"He left us with to never give up. Like to be the best version that you could ever be," Braheem said.
"I promise you I'm going to be positive and I'll never stop grinding," JaJa said.
That is what Kobe Bryant described as "mamba mentality."