Coach K: Kobe was 'the best high school player I've ever seen'

Kobe Bryant's decision to skip college and enter the NBA straight out of high school came as no surprise to Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Coach K touched on Duke's recruitment of Bryant on the latest episode of "The Dream Team Tapes: Kobe, LeBron, & The Redeem Team‬" podcast, describing the late NBA legend as the most talented high schooler he ever saw play.

"I never thought he would go to college. We recruited him, but no one recruited him to any deep level because you knew," Krzyzewski said. "I never saw LeBron play in high school, but when I saw Kobe play - he's the best high school player I've ever seen.

"When he walked into a gym, he walked in like (Michael) Jordan, at a high school level. ... He not only could play the role during a game, he played the role before and after the game. He looked that good, he believed he was that good, and he was that good. But I knew he was never gonna come."

Although Krzyzewski never coached Bryant at the college level, the two won a pair of Olympic gold medals together with the United States national men's basketball team in 2008 and 2012.