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People around the world are in shock Monday, as they mourn the loss of a legend.

Kobe Bryant, one of basketball’s all-time greatest players, was tragically killed Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. 

Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, was also killed in the crash. 

“I stopped both games that I was running and I made an announcement myself,” he said.

Jeremy Treatman, former assistant boy’s basketball coach at Lower Merion High when Kobe Bryant was a student and player, was running an all-day girls basketball event when the news of Bryant’s death broke.

“I think the emotions are changing hour by hour,” Treatman told WIBC’s Hammer and Nigel Show. “It went from shock and disbelief to sadness. And today, there’s some anger. I just keep saying to myself, ‘Why? Why? Why?’”

In lamenting the loss, Treatman said Bryant’s post-NBA career was on course to have an even greater impact on the world of entertainment and business than he did on the game of basketball.

“He was a brilliant businessman and I was anxious to see how all that would unfold for him because this was a guy who had a plan for his life after the NBA,” said Treatman. “And it’s a tragedy beyond belief to have one of the most iconic figures of all time dying at the age of 41. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

As Bryant’s assistant coach, Treatman saw the work-ethic and qualities that would make Bryant a superstar first-hand.

“It was incredible watching him as a coach to a player to see this work ethic, his historic work ethic that I had heard about but didn’t understand until I saw it with my own eyes,” Treatman said.

“When he was 17-years old, he had a key and was coming to the gym on his own. The janitors got tired of coming in early to open up for him,” recalled Treatman. “He would shoot 500 shots before school in the morning. And he was an incredible pupil and student; he knew the game inside and out and he was brilliant beyond his years.”

Treatman told Hammer and Nigel he felt so honored to have the privilege of knowing Kobe and being present as Bryant laid the foundation for his extraordinary career.

“It was so humbling to have the honor and pleasure to be present in that gym.”

Looking forward, Treatman says it’s all about continuing the legacy left behind by one of basketball’s greatest players of all time.

“Kobe Bryant is the hardest working individual I’ve ever met in any field, and he’s the most ambitious person I’ve ever met in any field, and he’s the most successful person I’ve ever met in any field,” said Treatman.

He continued: “As a kid, he was engaging, he was fun, he was thoughtful, and he was different from other kids in that he had a drive and a purpose for his life. He had a will to be great, and no other high school kid I’ve ever come across has acted that way.”

Treatman paused for a moment, then added, “Strive to be great. That’s his legacy to me.”

The cause of the crash was unknown, but conditions at the time were such that the Los Angeles Police Department and the county sheriff’s department grounded their helicopters.

A person who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter, told USA Today Monday that Bryant and his daughter, Gianna were en route to an AAU basketball game Sunday morning when the helicopter crashed.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said nine people were on board the helicopter when it crashed — a pilot and eight passengers. However, authorities will not confirm the victims’ names until all the next of kin have been notified, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The L.A. County coroner’s office said Sunday night that the recovery effort is expected to take several days because of the condition of the crash site and its remote location, according to the L.A. Times. Officials have shut down roads leading to the site because of a throng of visitors trying to get there.

Click below to hear Hammer and Nigel’s full interview with Jeremy Treatman, former assistant boy’s basketball coach at Lower Merion High.

(Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Contributor / Getty Images)