Derek Anderson was on his way to the gym Sunday afternoon. He looked at his Instagram account as he walked closer to the entrance.

Something caught his eye. The Boardman High School senior boys basketball player couldn’t fathom what he just saw. He, like many others, were in disbelief as other images started to come in on his news feed. Then, there was confirmation. Former Los Angeles Laker and NBA legend Kobe Bryant was dead at age 41.

“It didn’t seem real at all,” Anderson said.

Anderson, who leads the 13-1 Spartans, saw Bryant as his inspiration, as many basketball players did around the world — studying every aspect of his game.

Bryant’s work ethic became Anderson’s mentality. The tragic news made most somber, but the Boardman senior wondered what would Bryant do on a day like this? Anderson’s focus was to continue to better himself and work out at an area gym.

“That’s something Kobe would do, not take a day off, or I’m not going to work out today,” Anderson said. “Make sure I’m getting in the gym, have that Mamba mentality. Continue to work, regardless of circumstances. Stick to the grind.”

Boardman boys basketball coach Pat Birch said he addressed his players Monday, talking about Bryant’s passing — more about the legacy of being your best self — that Mamba mentality.

“Hopefully, what they have gotten is you’ve got to show up every day and put the work in regardless of what success you have or don’t have,” Birch said. “It’s about showing up and putting in an honest day’s work. I think Kobe represented that. I think these guys show it on a daily basis, too.”

It’s not just the boys teams in the area, the girls also felt the shock wave of Bryant’s death. He was close with the University of Oregon women’s basketball team, having a vested interest in girls’ and women’s basketball. Bryant was an advocate for the WNBA and equal pay for women’s players.

His daughter Gianna, who was 13, died in the helicopter crash with her father. Gianna was well on her way to being one of the better women’s basketball players in the country, even at a young age — following the work ethic her father set forth in his career. Comparisons were being drawn between Gianna and Kobe, game and work ethic.

Poland girls basketball coach Nick Blanch sees his players and those around the area big into the game — respecting the former NBA icon.

“I think that drew more attention to the girls side in my opinion as well,” Blanch said. “I know a lot of girls players around here look up to him and LeBron (James).”

One thing which stuck with Blanch is Bryant talking about not working for the result, but the journey to get to the result.

“It’s something I think about as a coach as well,” Blanch said. “It’s not all about working for a result — the whole process of it. The offseason. The preseason. The weight room. It’s all the little things that make the big picture.”

Girard boys coach Craig Hannon has a daughter and twin boys. He knows the importance of Bryant’s legacy, even his last few years after the NBA.

“It was nice to see how he was a champion for his daughter,” Hannon said.

Most of his Girard players follow LeBron’s exploits, but Hannon, 33, was an adamant follower of the the early 2000s when Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal led the Lakers to multiple NBA championships.

“They were must watch with him and Shaq,” Hannon said.

The Girard coach was a young player growing up, trying to emulate Bryant.

“The first shoe I ever had was the Kobe 2, which were the moon-shoe looking Kobes that no one wanted to wear because they weren’t good looking,” Hannon said. “I tell my players my shooting form I tried to look like Kobe.”

Sunday, he was at Girard’s fourth- through sixth-grade tournament when the news about Bryant started to flow through social media.

“I’ll never forget where I was sitting when I heard that,” Hannon said.

The passing of Bryant put things in perspective on Sunday afternoon.

Springfield boys coach Steven French came into the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse locker room his Tigers team was using that afternoon. They just beat a 12-2 Collins Western Reserve team at the Eric Snow Classic.

There was no celebration after this win, only somber faces as the Springfield players were fixated on their phones more than normal, stunned at the recent news of Bryant’s death.

“One of the players immediately said, ‘Kobe Bryant died'” French said. “There was a quiet in the locker room when we normally would be celebrating. We kind of said a few things, went our way. Kids grabbed their coats. That was kind of it.

“Everybody was in shock.”