Cashmere, WASH. — Even when you're a top basketball recruit in the nation, there may be no greater physical challenge than playing with a broken heart.
Cashmere High School senior Hailey Van Lith, a five-star recruit, committed to play at the University of Louisville, was personally coached, trained and mentored by Kobe Bryant over eight months. Bryant volunteered to help Van Lith for free when he noticed her play for Team USA overseas. On Tuesday, in a home game against Omak, Hailey carried very heavy grief--while being lifted by the spirit and memory of Bryant's enthusiasm.
Somehow, she found the drive and determination to score 29 points to keep her Bulldog team undefeated.
“Kobe reached out to Hailey, and he just said ‘She reminds me of me. She has that “it” factor, that it takes,’” said Hailey’s father, Corey Van Lith. “Kobe said ‘you don’t define “it,” you just know it when you see it, and he saw it.”’
Two weeks before they became among nine victims of a tragic helicopter crash, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gigi visited the Cashmere High School gym to see Hailey play. The town of about 3150 people—which is the geographic center of Washington State--buzzed about it for days.
"They just had an incredible energy and passion for everything they did," she said.
Hailey wrote a pregame tribute to the people who became her close friends, which was read by the announcer before tipoff.
"To my mentor and friend Kobe, I am deeply saddened our time has been cut short. God's timing is perfect, and he intentionally brought us together for this long," she wrote.
Afterward, the packed gym fell silent for a 24-second tribute to the NBA legend and his daughter.
"I mean the man motivated me, as a person, as a human being," said Corey. "He had a different relationship with my daughter than he did with me. He was a mentor to my daughter. But to me? It just was two dads talking to each other about raising daughters."
Hailey said Bryant's relentless pursuit of excellence will be something she will carry--and pay forward.
"He just said 'Give back to the game.' So I think when the time comes for me and I meet someone who seeks my advice, I'll definitely be willing to do that."
Hailey says the enthusiasm Bryant and his daughter seemed to radiate will be fuel for everything she'll ever do.
“Kobe had a legacy,” she said. “And it would be an injustice if I let that leave with his physical body, so I think his spirit will be inside me. All the time.”