Kobe Bryant Wanted to Attend North Carolina Before Deciding to Go to the NBA

He really wanted to be MJ, huh?

Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today Sports

For years now, it's been believed that Kobe Bryant was thisclose to attending Duke University before ultimately deciding to enter the NBA straight out of high school. Bryant has talked about how much respect and admiration he has for Mike Krzyzewski on a number of occasions. So people have always thought that Duke was Bryant's first choice.

But as it turns out, Bryant wasn't almost a Blue Devil. During the "Kobe Bryant Up Close Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel" charity event last night, Bryant was asked about his love for Duke. And while he gave Coach K props, he revealed that his first choice wasn't Duke; it was North Carolina.

"The truth has to come out," he said, before admitting that he almost chose UNC because of Vince Carter. "I wanted to play against him every single day."

You sure about that, Kobe? You sure you didn't want to go to UNC because you know who went there, too? Either way, it doesn't really matter because Kobe didn't end up going to college anyway.

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[via Pro Basketball Talk]

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