In this July 12, 1996, file photo Kobe Bryant, 17, jokes with the media as he holds his Los Angeles Lakers jersey during a news conference at the Great Western Forum.

This past week, on Jan. 26, marked two years since Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, passed away as the result of tragic circumstances.

Kobe was remembered on the court for being the hardest worker and fiercest competitor. Off the court, he was known as a devoted girl dad.

To remember the legend of Kobe Bryant, local basketball coaches around Limestone County share their thoughts about what made Kobe great.

Several coaches were contacted, but not all returned answers by press time.

Mike Holt

Clements boys basketball coach

Q: What did you like about Kobe’s mentality on and off the court?

A: Kobe was a fierce competitor who did not like to lose on either side of the basketball court.

It seemed like he never took a play off. His mentality was always to work harder to find a way to beat you.

Q: Do you take anything from Kobe’s game/mentality that you try to instill in your players?

A: We tell our players that if you want to get really good, you have to do a whole lot more than what happens during designated practice time.

You have to sacrifice other things in life to reach your goals.

Q: Do you have any players who looked up to Kobe, or who had him as their favorite player?

A: Half our team asked if we could paint our locker room purple and gold with his number for this year. I’m glad our players got to see him play because he played the game the way it is supposed to be played: driven.

Lauren Evans

Lindsay Lane girls basketball coach

Q: What did you like about Kobe’s mentality on and off the court?

A: Kobe was known as a relentless worker. He was determined to outwork everyone, even as a pro who had immense, God-given talent.

Q: Do you take anything from Kobe’s game/mentality that you try to instill in your players?

A: You have to possess that internal motivation to work not just when it’s in season or during scheduled practice/workouts, but on your own with purpose. T

his is universal and it’s the thing that separates the good from the great. This was his greatest strength. This was the Mamba mentality.

Q: Do you have any players who looked up to Kobe, or who had him as their favorite player?

A: Yes, Lindsey Murr and Kaili Sterling. Lindsey says he pushed himself to be the greatest competitor. Kaili says he pushed his teammates. He expected the same of them as he did himself.

Eric Smith

Elkmont boys basketball coach

Q: What did you like about Kobe’s mentality on and off the court?

A: Kobe had the mentality on the court that “anything less than your best was simply not an option.”

He would outwork anyone he played against, and that, combined with the talent he possessed, made him an incredible competitor.

Q: Do you take anything from Kobe’s game/mentality that you try to instill in your players?

A: The importance of hard work on and off the court. His willingness to prepare and put in the extra time it takes to be your best.

We try to instill that mindset in all levels of our program.

Q: Do you have any players who looked up to Kobe, or who had him as their favorite player?

A: We have an ongoing discussion basically every day amongst our players in our program about the (Michael) Jordan, Kobe, LeBron (James) debate of who is the “G.O.A.T.” of NBA history.

Grace Newton

Clements girls basketball coach

Q: What did you like about Kobe’s mentality on and off the court?

A: My favorite part about Kobe’s mentality is his competitiveness and his approach to adversity.

I am extremely competitive and goal-driven. The quote that best describes this is “everything negative — pressure, challenges — is all opportunities for me to rise.”

Q: Do you take anything from Kobe’s game/mentality that you try to instill in your players?

A: There is a lot I take from Kobe that I try to instill in my players.

Every day on our practice schedule I have a ‘thought of the day.’

Some of my favorite Kobe quotes I have used are:

“The important thing is that your teammates know you’re pulling for them and you really want them to be successful.”

“The mindset isn’t about seeking result. It’s more about the process of getting to that result. It’s about the journey and the approach.”

“A lot of people say they want to be great but they are not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness.”

Q: Do you have any players who looked up to Kobe, or who had him as their favorite player?

A: When I ask them who their favorites was he is always in the Top three if not the first.

I am not sure they really remember him playing, but I think that even in his tragic death, he impacted the game of basketball.

Dakota James

West Limestone girls basketball coach

Q: What did you like about Kobe’s mentality on and off the court?

A: I love the fact that Kobe would not be out-worked. All of those crazy stories about his training and practices.

You can see why people think he is one of the greatest. It was the can’t lose attitude on the court.

He knew when he walked into an arena he was the best player, he wanted to take the big shots, he knew he could hit the big shots and it is because of his work off the court.

Q: Do you take anything from Kobe’s game/mentality that you try to instill in your players?

A: I try to preach to my kids about just working hard. Refuse to be out-worked in practice or a game.

If you go hard and do everything as hard as you can, good thing will eventually happen.

Q: Do you have any players who looked up to Kobe, or who had him as their favorite player?

A: I think we are moving out of the generation who grew up watching Kobe and it’s shifting towards LeBron (James), but there are a lot of kids who are in awe when they see actual games of Kobe.

I grew up loving Kobe Bryant and I try to tell my kids all the time he’s the G.O.A.T.

Sam Wallace

Elkmont girls basketball coach

Q: What did you like about Kobe’s mentality on and off the court?

A: Kobe was a winner. He called it a Mamba mentality. It’s been called a lot of things, but simply not settling for anything less than being the best version of yourself. That goes for in practice, during games and in life. Know that someone out there is is always working to beat you. So, any days you don’t bring the absolute best version of yourself, someone out there is passing you.

Q: Do you take anything from Kobe’s game/mentality that you try to instill in your players?

A: We do a quote of the day every day before practice. Here is a Kobe quote we have used before:

“We can always kind of be average and do what’s normal. I’m not in this to do what’s normal.’

Obviously what he is talking about is bigger than basketball. It’s his Mamba mentality.

Q: Do you have any players who looked up to Kobe, or who had him as their favorite player?

A: Our girls know who Kobe is. The guys I have coached in the past looked up to him, too. He’s a Top 5 player all time. We can learn a lot from him.

Jordan Paul

Tanner girls basketball coach

Q: What did you like about Kobe’s mentality on and off the court?

A: I was most impressed with his relentless work ethic and how he held himself and his teammates to such a high level of accountability on the court.

Q: Do you take anything from Kobe’s game/mentality that you try to instill in your players?

A: I try to instill in my kids to “be about the work.” There are no shortcuts to success and Kobe understood that in order to be great, you have to be willing to work/play at a level your opponent is unwilling to match.

Q: Do you have any players who looked up to Kobe, or who had him as their favorite player?

A: A couple of the girls asked to wear his shoes, instead of the team shoes, in his memory the game after his death.

Capriee Tucker

Athens girls basketball coach

Q: What did you like about Kobe’s mentality on and off the court?

A: Kobe’s mentality was the same no matter what he was doing. I especially liked how he made everything a competition and attacked it like he would a basketball game. He was consistent in his efforts for his entire career and that, in my opinion, is what helped him have one of the best NBA tenures ever.

Q: Do you take anything from Kobe’s game/mentality that you try to instill in your players?

A: Yes. The reason it would be good for his mentality to be instilled in my players is so they would work off the court without me telling them to. He attacked each possession, workout and game with the same intensity. It is important for my players to take that same intensity and transfer it to life after basketball. I want that for my team.