Kobe Bryant Once Left NCAA Defensive Player Of The Year In A Daze

Perhaps former NBA player Shane Battier should blame teammate Michael Dickerson. Dickerson was the starting shooting guard for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001-02 before sustaining a season-ending hernia injury. It left out of position Battier, a rookie at the time, facing some of the league's best players every night. Battier was coming off winning NCAA Defensive Player of the Year at Duke, but this was next level. "It was an unbelievable experience because I had got roasted by the best," Battier told Back In The Day Hoops On SI. "I was guarding [Allen] Iverson, I was guarding Kobe [Bryant], I was guarding [Manu] Ginobili. I was guarding Ray Allen. I was guarding everybody ... I got a baptism by fire."   The lowlight came when Battier faced Bryant for the first time at Staples Center. Bryant finished with 56 points ... in three quarters. He sat the remainder because the game was out of hand. "I thought I could out-think most guys but he had a mind like a steel trap," Battier said. "He was so hungry for points.