Kobe stopped by LM in October to get a workout in during a visit to the area. He spent almost three hours in the Down’s Gym, getting up shots and working on a series of post-moves that he had learned a day earlier from Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston. Members of the current Aces had the opportunity to watch the workout and pick up a few MVP-level pointers. Junior Matt McKenna remarked that the things that impressed him most about Kobe’s workout routine were the pace and purpose of his movements: “When he was doing his drills and practicing his moves, he wasn’t moving full speed. He was trying to get all the footwork right.” Also notable, according to McKenna: “were all of his Vitamin Waters.”

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The inaugural Lower Merion Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held in June 2008. Kobe was unable to attend due to his participation in the NBA Finals, but he recorded remarks for the event in the Lakers locker room that were shared with the honorees and guests. Makes you imagine what his speech might be like when the Naismith Hall of Fame comes calling a few years down the road….

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By Steve Meehan ‘08
In 1996 Kobe Bryant dominated the high school basketball scene in Pennsylvania in a pair of Adidas kicks. They were big and bulky and black and white, but in a way they were the first “Kobes,” customized with a little bit of input from Kobe himself by a company hoping to sign the high school prodigy. Kobe’s LM teammates had a chance to wear the same shoes, too, as part of one of the first high school “team deals.” Today, the whole Lower Merion Aces program (boys and girls) not only wears the same shoe, but they wear a special edition shoe made exclusively for Lower Merion. Starting in 2007, Kobe Bryant and Nike put together a Lower Merion-themed shoe and since then they have made it into a series with the 6th pair coming out in 2010. And if the 6th pair is any more technologically advanced then the previous, you might as well expect to fly. The latest Kobe Bryant shoes to hit the market are made from Lunarlite foam which was inspired by what astronauts used on the moon. Now imagine Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon with some Kobe’s on…
The first shoe of the LM series was the Nike Zoom Kobe II in Lower Merion colors (maroon and white). About 30 shoes were made in total and they were given to the team at the end of their season in 2007 as a gift from Kobe for a season well played. The shoe is quite comfortable and stylish, with some cool customization like the word “Vivo” embroidered on the ankle strap, but it’s pretty heavy for a shoe that’s part of the “zoom” series. With the new development of a “footbucket” which was created by taking out the midsole, it made the shoe lower, but in my opinion it gave the shoe a heavier feeling as if you were actually standing in a bucket. Also, the shoe’s toe color chips easily, so the shoe was more form over function. Since we got them after the season, many of them ended up in display cases at home instead of on our feet on the court. I do like the coloring scheme they did on this shoe, the maroon and white look good together, adding style to the shoes basic design. Overall the shoe is a comfortable basketball shoe but probably not the best for an average guard looking to “zoom” around the court. I place it at number 4 on the list of 5 Lower Merion Edition shoes.

The second shoe of the series is the Nike Zoom II Strength. This shoe also was exclusively made in team colors for Lower Merion. None of this style of shoe was sold in stores and cannot be found on the internet. The shoe is predominantly patent leather maroon with some white towards the heel and is designed with two bulky straps; one strap on the top like the former Nike Zoom II and one in the middle. It looks as though Nike was maybe trying to go back to ’96 with a boot era throwback. The color scheme and bold look definitely catches attention, but it would take a serious wardrobe change to have any chance to wear these on a regular basis. I’m not hating, though, it is very comfortable to wear, and our post players gave them particularly good reviews. I rank this as my #5 shoe on the list of Lower Merion edition shoes.

The third shoe of the Lower Merion series is the Nike Zoom Kobe III – PE Lower Merion “Ace.” This shoe was the first of the Lower Merion Edition shoes to be featured on the internet and sold in Asia. The shoe was actually never even worn by the Lower Merion basketball team but nevertheless is the third edition to the series. This shoe is completely different then the first two shoes discussed. The shoe is much lighter due to a full length zoom air unit and is lined with Nike sphere on the inside for moisture management. I like the overall style of the shoe compared to the other two shoes, it’s much sleeker than the other two tug boat shoes. The shoe has a unique spider web design on the exterior and an unusually thin tongue. The color scheming maintains the maroon & white, but also adds some gray. Overall I would have to rank this shoe at number 3 on my LM list.

The fourth shoe in the Lower Merion series is the Nike Hyperdunk Supreme – Lower Merion PE. This shoe was the first of the series to be offered in U.S. stores. Or should I say “store.” The shoe was unveiled at Nike House of Hoops and sold out in a matter of minutes. The Lower Merion team was equipped with these shoes during the 2008-09 season. The shoe is predominantly maroon similar to the Nike Zoom II Strength, but this time it has the great hyperdunk sleek style that really makes it a nice basketball shoe. It is also the first to have “official” Lower Merion logo ID; the tongue features an “Ace” symbol at the top (inspired by elements of the Lower Merion Ace/Bulldog logo), and the soles feature #33 (KB’s high school number) and the eyes of a bulldog. I wore these shoes all last year and I was extremely happy with how they held together. They are very light, weighing 13 ounces mostly due to the new Flywire technology with the Lunarlite foam Nike has created. This technology allows for quicker movement and better explosion. Personally, this is my favorite shoe to wear on the basketball court because of its light weight and good ankle support. Style-wise the Lower Merion Edition is pretty cool though a little too maroon for my tastes. Overall I would rank this number 2 on my list only.

The fifth and most recent shoe in the Lower Merion series is the Nike Kobe Zoom IV (Lower Merion). This shoe which was released in March 2009 was again offered at House of Hoops and sold out in a matter of minutes. Only 300 were sold in the U.S. and the other 2500 were sold in Asia. The Lower Merion Edition is great. It has a perfect balance of colors with the maroon and white distributed evenly throughout the whole shoe. On the back/heel of the shoe is the stylized Ace logo. This shoe is my overall personal favorite because it has the combination of good looks, comfort, and durability. The shoes are extremely light, weighing in at 11.6 ounces making them the lightest Kobe shoe yet. This shoe also contains Lunarlite foam and the Flywire technology that was introduced with the Hyperdunks. The shoe looks great on the court and I would even recommend wearing these shoes out on the town with jeans or khaki shorts. The low cut makes it versatile for wearing on or off the court. Another great aspect of this shoe is that it does not scuff easily. The patent leather toe allows for scuffs to just be washed away with a little spit and some elbow grease. The Kobe Zoom IV Lower Merion Edition ranks number 1 on my list of the 5 Nike Lower Merion Kobe Shoes. The combination of style, comfort, and durability give great reasons to buy the ZKIV whether it’s a limited edition Lower Merion series version or not.

Another LM-edition of the ZK4 will drop during the 2009-10 season, with an updated “home” color scheme and more authentic Lower Merion ID. Images of this shoe have already begun to appear on the Internet at sneaker blogs like sneakermestupid.com and sneakernews.com. This new shoe has some interesting features including a full reproduction of the official Aces logo (which is actually a bulldog named “Ace”) on the heel. The LM hyperdunk and first LM ZK4  used the team’s secondary logo, the stylized “Ace” which hangs from the dog collar. And to clear up any confusion out there, yes the team is called “The Aces,” and not “The Bulldogs.” It’s a long story, but basically this new version has the most authentic “Lower Merion Aces” ID, though it incorporates a color (metallic silver) that is rarely used in team apparel.
Anyhow, the Lower Merion colorway (maroon, white, silver, whatever) has proven to be very popular among sneakerheads and no doubt the new shoe will continue to have people buzzing. Sometimes it’s kind of ridiculous to think that my alma mater has its own line of shoes that are being worn worldwide and that people are anxiously awaiting the next opportunity to sport their LM-finest. I think it hit home for me when I was out working at Kobe camp this summer and a few of the Lower Merion staffers and I handed out a couple Aces tee-shirts. They were like gold. Lower Merion has become a definite basketball brand and obviously we have Kobe to thank.

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The band 311 was recently in town for a performance at Penn’s Landing to promote their new album, Uplifter (currently #3 on the Billboard charts). Bassist P-Nut (pictured) is a big Kobe fan and the Aces hooked him up with an authentic LM/Kobe jersey for his gig. The band showed their love to Aces Nation, hosting a few recent alums at the concert (which also featured Ziggy Marley & The Expendables). P-Nut offered some words of the encouragement for next year’s squad before taking the stage.
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P-Nut’s ‘33″ jersey is actually the only authentic LM/Kobe jersey available to the general public — it’s a reversible that was developed by Nike & USA Basketball and marketed during the Olympics. One side features KB’s maroon LM throwback and the other is a white replica of Kobe’s Olympic jersey, with detailed gold lettering that describes some of Kobe’s lifetime achievements. A number of LM/Kobe/Nike jerseys have popped up on the internet throughout the years, but none have been authorized and officially licensed except this Olympic version.

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“If you ever start selling LM #24 “throwback” jerseys, please remember to give me a cut. Kobe was #33 at LM, a half-Jewish kid named Dave Rosenberg was #24…”
– Dave Rosenberg ’97 in a recent note to the LM basketball program

There was a lot of discussion about the high school origins of #24 when Kobe made the switch from #8. KB did in fact wear #24 as a 9th grader in 1993, during the worst season in Aces history (4-21). After the seniors, juniors and sophomores chose their uniforms at the start of the year, #24 was one of the few remaining complete sets left when Kobe had his pick. There’s not much evidence left from that disastrous season, except for a couple of yearbook images. Notice the horrendous diaper-style shorts in the team shot; Kobe is standing second from left and yes, there’s #24 on the front of his shorts. In the action pic, his arm is covering the #24.

The next season, the Aces would get a much-anticipated new shipment of uniforms (made by the recently defunct DeLong Sportswear) and Kobe began his high school run as #33. Today, the Aces boys and girls teams wear Nike and the days of short shorts are, thankfully, over. And yes, Dave, we’ll be sure you get your just due should the Aces ever start selling #24 throwbacks…

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A few years before his ascent to NBA stardom, Kobe was just another high school kid — albeit, a very talented high school kid — hoping to make a name for himself in the world of basketball. This video is from Kobe’s first television interview in 1995 (he was a junior at the time). The interviewer is former Aces assistant coach Jeremy Treatman.

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It was a reunion of District 1 basketball royalty at Game 4 of the NBA Finals. With Kobe and Jameer (Chester) doing their thing on the court, it was only fitting that Coach Downer bumped into legendary Clippers coach Fred Pickett in the concessions line. I snapped this pic at halftime — with the Lakers down 10. Fred sent his best wishes to KB, but was of course pulling for Jameer and the Magic. He also introduced us to Jameer’s mom…who apparently has some new digs in…Lower Merion.

It turned out to be a night for the Aces, as Kobe and crew rode a couple of clutch Derek Fisher threes to an overtime victory. We sat next to former Knicks star Herb Williams and debated the merits of fouling up three, in the bonus, with more than ten seconds to play…Herb’s not a fan of taking the foul unless it’s under five seconds. I wonder if the outcome would have been different if the Magic had fouled before Fisher’s game-tying trey. I guess we’ll never know.

A couple of LM jerseys in the crowd and lots of Lakers fans. Kobe seems determined to get it done in Orlando. Stay tuned…

–Doug Young

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During Kobe’s junior year, I got a fresh, new pair of Nike Uptempos for the playoffs. They were sweet. And when Kobe saw them, he too said that he wanted a pair. “Some girl told me she was gonna buy me some sneaks,” Kobe said. “Where can she get ‘em?”

“What?” I replied. “Some girl is gonna buy you sneaks?”

“Yup.”

This made no sense to me. What teenage girl buys a guy sneakers? Just earlier that day in the cafeteria, I had asked a girl to lend me 5 cents so I could get a chocolate milk. She ignored me. When I asked her friend if she had a nickel, she took her nickel, waved it in front of my face and threw it in a trash can.

The next day at lunch, while I pined for some chocolate milk, Kobe strutted in with a brand new pair of Uptempos. I realized then that Kobe a very special basketball player. And he could probably help me get some chocolate milk.

– Evan Monsky ‘95

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During practice his senior year – my junior year – Kobe took an elbow or a finger in the eye (wasn’t mine, I swear) and it started to bleed. He grabbed a towel and walked off the court towards the trainer’s room, holding the towel to his injured eye. Just before he got to the door, he turned, picked up a loose ball with his left hand and shot it at the hoop about 45 feet away. Swish. He kept on walking.

That was my first holy sh*t moment.

– Brendan Pettit ‘97

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A tall, skinny 8^th grader from Bala Cynwyd Middle School walked into the Lower Merion High School gym during the spring of 1991. He had been invited by Aces coach Gregg Downer to join the varsity team for some pick-up basketball. In just a few minutes, it became clear that the kid – Kobe Bryant – was going to be something special. He more than held his own against the older players, displaying a feel for the game, a level of athleticism and a competitive drive that would serve as the foundation for stardom. [...]

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