Football - Is Kobe Bryant a Bad Example

After Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against Toronto, Vince Carter said that it was bad for the kids who idolize Bryant since it might encourage them to try to get 81. Many people scoffed at his remarks, particularly since Vince hasn't been shy scoring the ball in his career. But it appeared that he was right after Epiphanny Prince from Murry Bergtraum High School scored 113 points in a game, a new record for girl's hoops.

Now normally I don't consider complaints about teams rubbing it in during blowouts to have much merit, the same way NFL teams complain when TO and Chad Johnson dance in the end zone; if you don't like it either knock them down or prevent them from scoring. When it gets to the college level rubbing it in starts to matter a little. But in a high school basketball game, rubbing it in is awful.

Epiphanny Prince didn't just score 113 points against Louis Brandeis High School; she did it with her team winning 137-32. A 105-point difference! She went 54-60 and played every minute. I'd say the star player has to leave the game when the lead builds to 70 or 80. But coach Ed Grizinsky left her in just to score those points, leaving the other 23 players on the teams out to dry.

So where does this rank all-time in sports? Right behind when Vladimir Radmanovic let his little sister braid his hair. Yeah, I'm not impressed. Unless you're a class-A ignoramus or live in an asylum you're way out of line to even put this close to Kobe's 81 or (heaven-forbid) Wilt's 100. It's just high school basketball. Travis Best scored 86 in a high school game. Even Kwame "what-am-I-doing-in-the-NBA" Brown had superstar numbers in high school.

There is a scale and sense of accomplishment in sports. Jim Abbot (who had just one arm) throwing a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians is a tremendous feat, one that in my opinion should be ranked higher in sports infamy. When Kobe had 61 in his 81-point game, the LA lead was still just single-digits. There has to be a struggle, a challenge, a sense of "Wow, that was an impressive thing to do." Prince's team won by 105, so clearly they were facing a pretty horendous team. If the deficit were 50 or 60 maybe it'd be a better feat.

It's not just the "hurting their feelings" part of winning by 105 that's bad about this; it's that by doing this they come off as class-less fools. A good comedian knows when to stop the same way the Pistons knew when to bring in Darko. But to leave in Prince at the sake of the other 23 players and parents and friends in attendance is ridiculous.

I do hope that both Kobe's 81 and Prince's 113 point-marks will stay unchallenged for a few decades. 113 is perhaps the best performance in American high school history (I assume). But let's not put her game even near professional accomplishments.