It was a pretty common occurrence for Kobe Bryant to make Charles Baines late for school.
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As someone growing up on the east coast of America, Baines would have stay up until all hours of the night to watch Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers in action on the west coast.
He'd then spend his free time playing basketball and pretending to be Bryant, mimicking the type of movements synonymous with the man known as 'Black Mamba' during his record-laden 20-year spell with the Lakers in the NBA.
Baines spent so much time watching and acting like Bryant as a child he ended up being nicknamed 'Kobe'.
That kind of admiration meant Baines was one of the countless people all over the globe stunned by the news the 41-year-old NBA legend, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other people had died in a helicopter crash in outer Los Angeles in the early hours of Monday morning Australian time.
But while those in Los Angeles were able to pay tribute at the Lakers' home the Staples Centre or various Bryant murals around the city, Baines was thousands of kilometres away in Dubbo.
The American made the move to Australia last year, linking up with the Dubbo Rams for the 2019 Waratah League season and he made the decision to stay on for the 2020 campaign.
He's done more than line up for the Rams on the court though and has played a massive role in the development and coaching of Dubbo juniors since his arrival.
But none of it would have happened without Bryant.
"Everything I've learnt is from Kobe and I wouldn't have kept going," he said.
"He had challenges and he didn't go away from them when some people would.
"He took it on. He wanted that pressure and to be in that light.
"Win, lose, or draw he left it all on the court and that's what I took from him. You could ask coaches, I'd be the first one training and the last to leave because I watched Kobe. That's where I got that work ethic.
"Whenever I work with kids and they want to learn I tell them that it's all possible but they've got to make sacrifices. The same sacrifices Kobe made, the same I made, to elevate yourself."
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Baines, a major Lakers fan, had a huge number of messages from friends and families back home come through following confirmation Bryant was among those who had died.
He was one of the many who then spent time thinking about how lucky he was to have seen the five-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist in action live.
The night Baines saw him play wasn't just any other night either.
"I was there the night he went past Michael Jordan," Baines said, referencing the time Bryant moved up to third on the NBA all-time leading scorers list.
"I was pumped. I was like a kid in a candy store. We were in college and we were poor but it was a Tuesday night and it was cheap because it was student night.
"There weren't that many people there but it was crazy."
Baines still goes home now and is called 'Kobe' by friends and former coaches.
From the way Braynt trained and approached games and life, through to his career which took him all over the world, all of it has left an imprint on Baines.
Baines now calls Dubbo home but he's previously played in Lithuania, El Salvador, Spain, and Vietnam.
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
