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The 16,000+ middle school students, teachers and administrators from 97 schools in North and South Carolina who attended the sixth annual “Cool School Field Trip,” presented by Jordan Brand might not remember that the Bobcats fell 95-92 to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday afternoon – but it’s almost certain that everyone who left Friday’s game will remember that they had a great time.

They’ll also probably remember Gerald Henderson’s block.

It was the kind of play that might get etched into your mind when you’re a kid. You go to a basketball game hoping to see something cool – maybe a breakaway dunk or a game-winning 3-pointer. When Memphis’ Sam Young drove the lane with 4:57 remaining, Henderson gave these kids their moment.

Photo by NBAE / Getty Images

How impressive was that one play? Impressive enough to draw a shocking comparison from one of his teammates.

“You know what, I hate to even throw this out there, but just his movements and things that he does – I hate to even do it, but his movements remind me a lot of Kobe (Bryant),” Tyson Chandler said. “I know he’s from Philly and he watched a lot of him, but that’s not a bad person to emulate.”

“I’ve got a long way to go to be Kobe, but I thank him for that compliment,” Henderson responded as he flushed at his locker. “Yeah, I got a long way to do that.”

Henderson finished with his second-straight impressive performance of the preseason, totaling 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting with two blocks in 13 minutes off the bench. Raymond Felton led Charlotte with 15 points, followed by Boris Diaw (14), Derrick Brown (11), Henderson and Gerald Wallace (10).

The Bobcats final preseason game wasn’t as much about the final result, as it was about getting the team ready heading into their season opener on Wednesday in Boston and rewarding all the kids in attendance for the work they have been doing in school.

Middle school students and teachers were selected to attend today’s game based on academic achievement and outstanding displays of character in the classroom. In six years of Cool School, just over 100,000 students and teachers have been rewarded with tickets to this game.

“Cool School is a tradition that we all look forward to each preseason and the enthusiasm from this year’s attendees was tremendous,” said Whitfield. “With Jordan Brand becoming heavily involved now in this annual celebration of excellence and character in the classroom, we know Cool School will be a fixture for years to come and a model for rewarding academic achievement the right way.”

Throughout the game, students had the opportunity to win new pairs of Air Jordan shoes, and all participating schools were invited to submit entries to the “Cool School Art and Essay Contest”, presented by Jordan Brand. The essay question asks students what characteristics make someone legendary, and the art contest challenges students to design their own Jordan Brand shoe. The deadline for both contests is December 18, 2009 and winners receive prizes ranging from gift cards to the Bobcats Team Store to autographed items and meet-and-greet opportunities with Bobcats players.