With still a few games left this season, the 'Mamba Five' isn’t done yet. “This vision was a strong vision, and I think they’re doing what they wanted them to do,” Walter said. “These girls found a way to see the next day, the next moment, the next step, and they just continually took those steps.” “I think all the girls are resilient,” Walter said. On top of that, at least three of the girls will play college basketball at schools like Princeton, Northwestern, and the University of Chicago. Sage Hill Head Coach, Kerwin Walter, also knows they’ve accomplished so much, having won a CIF title and a state title, too, in 2022. These girls haven’t even graduated high school and yet, they’ve endured so much. I feel like for me, it takes me a while before I get to know someone, and I feel like Payton was like one of the first people that really reached out to me and made me feel a part of the team.' “I was like, a really shy person coming on the team. “When I think of Payton, I just see the bright smile that she wore every single day to practice,” Eadie said.

Gordon Tokumatsu reports for the NBC4 News on Oct. NBA2K and hosted a rededication for the mural at its location on Thursday at 3 p.m. NBA2K creators made a philanthropic donation to save a Downtown LA mural of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna for at least one more year after the owner of the building on which it is painted demanded that it be removed. Sarah Chester and her daughter, Payton, died, too. would just laugh all the time, but she was a great player,” Lamkin added. “I would just look forward to (Alyssa's) jokes every day during warms ups,” Spotts said. Mamba Parents John and Keri Altobelli also died, along with their daughter, Alyssa. “Every time it was like, ‘Oh, it’s Coach Christina’s turn to take over practice,' we were like, ‘OK, we’re going to get better today,” Holguin said. “I just have so much to thank her for because she really taught me good work ethic,” Emily Eadie. Among the dead was the pilot, the Bryant's, and Assistant Coach Christina Mauser – who the girls referred to as the 'Mother of Defense.' “He told my parents about this plan and I was like I want to be a part of this,” Lamkin said.īut when the helicopter crashed four years ago Friday, it killed nine people, including eight members of their close-knit Orange County basketball community. That plan was for the girls to play on the same club team and then play together at Sage Hill School in Newport Coast. NBC 4’s Alex Rozier reports on January 26, 2024. Kobe Bryant’s former high school coach remembers the basketball legend on the fourth anniversary of his death. “He set a plan and I just went with it,” Holguin said. Gigi was a member of the team, but the squad was a family. “I feel like Gigi played a lot like Coach Bryant and you could see watching film of her how some of the mannerisms were the same.” “Gigi was definitely the type of player that would not back down from any challenge,” Righeimer said. His passion was fueled by his dreams for his daughter Gigi, their teammate. “He just kept kind of pushing us and was like, 'If you really want to do this, we’re going to do this,'” Eadie said. “At the end of practice, he’d always tell us, 'Look yourself in the mirror,' and, 'Did you get 1% better today?' And if not, you got tomorrow,'” Righeimer said. love basketball someone who made me really enjoy it,” Holguin said. “I’m very grateful for all the lessons we all learned and can share about just the things that he taught us.” “The first thing that comes to mind, really, is my gratitude for that experience,” Spotts said. Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox.

Kobe and gigi bodies hugging