Vince Carter served as source of motivation for Lakers’ Kobe Bryant Posted Feb 26, 2016 They played together on the AAU circuit. They have remained two of the last few players still standing among their contemporaries. And they became linked partly because of Kobe Bryant’s high school coach. Lower Merion High coach Gregg Downer invoked Vince Carter’s name to motivate Bryant. “I enjoyed playing against him every time,” Bryant said of Carter. “I loved it.” (Los Angeles Daily News)