Andover Central senior Kobe Smith knows because of his name, he has a bit of a legacy to live up to. 

“The person I idolized and was named after is Kobe Bryant, rest in peace,” Smith says. “I just felt like basketball was something that I didn’t have to do but I wanted to do. Being named after Kobe Bryant and watching his highlights, I’ve got that mamba mentality that carries me everywhere.”

Smith knows he’s not Kobe Bryant. They aren’t the same size and have different styles of play, but he does believe that he can learn from Bryant and the type of player that he was.

“It’s that mindset of just getting better every day,” Smith says. “It’s about taking it one step at a time. I always try to emulate his game with the twists and fadeaways but I’m obviously not his size so it’s a little tougher for me. The mentality is the part of his game that I try to put in my own game. I want to add that to my game because I still want to be myself.”

On the court, Smith says he plays for all the people that have helped him get to where he is today.

“I play for the people invested in me, believed in me, and put time into getting me places,” he says. “It would be a disservice to them to go out and not give it my all in practice. Every time I go out there, I give it my all because I have people that believe in me and look up to me. I just can’t let them down.”

Smith knows the talent that’s on his Andover Central team and he believes the Jaguars can go all the way this year.

“The biggest goal is a state championship,” he says. “Last year we fell short to a pretty good team in Maize. If all goes together well this year we can get that biggest goal at state.”

Outside of basketball, Kobe says he is interested in computers and technology.

“I want to major in something in the tech field like computer science or programming,” he says. “One that really interests me that I want to pursue is cyber security.”

Following graduation, Smith plans on pursuing those dreams while also continuing his basketball career in college.