PARIS (George Eddy's International Show) - Kobe Bryant is as enigmatic as ever and he's been in the news alot recently which is normal considering his Hall of Fame career although it's also surprising because he plays for one of the worst teams in the league.

In his 19th season, he had an unbelievable start  individually (he's averaging 23 pts. a game) for someone who only played 6 games last season and who, at the age of 36, has had to deal with several serious injuries in the last two years.

His incredible work ethic and drive have permitted him to rack up the points and playing time for the Lakers but mostly in losses. Now his coach, Byron Scott, is resting him more and playing him less with the hope that he'll be stronger for next season.  The Lakers hope to be able to really play for something with a better roster in Kobe's last season on his current contract which makes him the NBA's highest paid player.

Kobe also made the headlines by criticizing the way young players in the USA were brought up through the AAU youth system saying the European players were better schooled in the fundamentals while alot of young players in the states were being exploited by their own entourages for their talents. 

When Kobe's dad played in Italy, Bryant grew and improved in the Italian youth system which Kobe says was influenced by legendary US coaches who gave conferences in Europe during the summer months.  He cited San Antonio's success with a very international roster as an example that basketball IQ and team play were more developped than just physical attributes and one on one play in the European system and I would tend to agree with him.  More practice time with competent coaches and less "run and gun" games in the summer is a good recipe for individual improvement.

One fundamental difference is that in Europe the governing bodies allow for much more practice time at the youth level compared to the US high school or NCAA rulesmakers.  This is why the AAU system swept in and filled the down time in the summers in the US.  

France has produced alot of NBA players in the last 15 years because they adapt the school calendar with the practice calendar for future pro prospects.  For instance, a young player can take four years to do the 3 year high school curriculum which allows for two a day practices and high school studies from the age of 15 on. You might say that's a heavy work load for teenagers and it is, but the players who are truly motivated to succeed like Tony Parker, Nicolas Batum or Boris Diaw end up with great basketball skills and knowledge as well as a high school diploma at the age of 19. They also played high level international youth competitions organized by FIBA during their summers to test themselves against top flight adversaries.

In any case, Kobe had the courage to talk publicly about the problem. Over his long NBA career, Kobe has often alternated from being one of my favorite players to one of my least favorite. I thought that he had learned his lesson from Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson when he played team ball with Shaquille O'Neal to win three titles in a row with the Lakers but he regressed into an ego battle with Shaq for top dog status in 2004 which probably impeded the team from winning at least two more championships together.

After a couple of seasons of hogging the ball, putting up big numbers and losing with his individualistic style he became, once again, an all-around leader while listening to Phil who came back to help Kobe win two more titles with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.  Now Kobe is probably going to finish his career more concerned with all-time individual accolades than team wins. Maybe this will be a fitting conclusion to a brilliant career that could have been even better!

George Eddy

FIBA

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