Kobe Bryant takes in the festivities
STORRS — UConn head coach Geno Auriemma knew Senior Day at Gampel Pavilion was going to be ripe for distractions. From pregame festivities honoring stars Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson to Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo having her number (50) retired at halftime, there was plenty to marvel at.
And then Kobe Bryant showed up.
“Kobe was a little bit of a distraction,” Auriemma said, smiling. “We were hoping he would just send Gigi, his daughter, and (he would) stay home so he wouldn’t cause that distraction. But, we couldn’t arrange that.”
Bryant, NBA royalty, sat just a few rows behind the Huskies bench wearing a long-sleeved navy-blue UConn shirt. Alongside his daughter, Bryant watched the second-ranked Huskies topple Houston 83-61 before a sellout crowd of 10,167.
“It’s a lot to process in one day,” Auriemma said. “We started early; it was an early morning. You know it’s Senior Day, so you’ve got all that and all the emotions that go with that. You know that the game itself is going to be emotional, whether it shows or not. You hope that it’s a normal game, but it’s not going to be.”
Bryant watched UConn play UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles last year and also attended the Huskies’ Final Four loss to Notre Dame. This past October, Bryant proclaimed to Reggie Miller that his daughter is “hellbent” on one day playing for Auriemma. Guard Crystal Dangerfield said Bryant showing up in Storrs was a “complete shock.”
“He is definitely a presence, bringing him into a gym like this,” she said. “You kind of (have to) stay in the moment and not make yourself look dumb.”
Collier said that Bryant — who scored 33,643 points and made the NBA All-Star Game 18 times over his career — stopped by the UConn locker room after the game.
His advice?
“Just to expect physical play — embrace it,” Dangerfield said.
Added Collier: “It’s amazing. He is the best. Especially the whole Mamba mentality, he’s cutthroat with everything he does. He … was telling us what we need to do to be successful. Obviously, we have a legend coaching us every day in Coach Auriemma, but to have him come to our locker room, it really means a lot.”
It’s not the first time that Bryant has offered advice to the Huskies. During last offseason, Samuelson, a Huntington Beach, Calif., native, watched film with the Los Angeles Lakers legend.