ST. LOUIS — When a group of teenagers hit the hardwood at the Jackie Joyner Kersee Community Center after school Monday, they're too young to remember Kobe Bryant's storied career. But they know his name.
Shouts of "Kobe!" come with every jump shot.
"I was shocked," 15-year-old Tramae Whitehead said of the news of Bryant's death.
A high school freshman, Whitehead says he mostly knows of Bryant's style through videos he finds on YouTube.
But coach Jetuane Hall closely watched the NBA legend's career, which now has many parallels with her own.
"For me, it was very heartbreaking because this was somebody that I grew up on watching with my family and with my friends," Hall said, adding that Bryant was "more than basketball" through his commitment to youth sports.
Hall says she'll talk with the players on her team and work a little harder with Bryant's passing.
"It made me wanna go harder and make sure that I am teaching them everything they need to know about basketball, being that role model for them," Hall said.
As the sound of sneakers quiets at the JJK Center, a memorial picked up across the river.
About 100 people gathered at Keiner Plaza in downtown St. Louis, lighting candles together. They wore Lakers logos on their hats -- and jerseys, all with one name across the back.
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