Vanessa Bryant and the Duke basketball team

The Duke Blue Devils basketball team, led by center Kyle Filipowski, received a pleasant surprise ahead of their Sweet 16 clash against the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars.

Vanessa Bryant, the wife of the late Kobe Bryant, gifted the entire Dukes team with a pair of the Kobe 4 Protro Philly sneakers ahead of their clash against the Cougars.

The team reposted pictures of the sleek shoes on Instagram with the caption:

“Kobe 4 Protro Philly for the Sweet 16‼️ 🙌 @vanessabryant.”

The shoes, named the “Italian Camos,” were designed as a homage to Kobe Bryant’s Italian heritage.

“I just wanna say thank you to Vanessa Bryant and the Bryant family. We appreciate you.” senior guard Hassan Diarra said, “We’re gonna show out in the NCAA tournament!” (via TMZ)

This isn’t the first occasion where UConn has received special Bryant-themed footwear. Last year, the team, affiliated with the Nike Mamba Program, received custom Huskies Kobe 8 Protros.

Duke aims to shed off lightweight tag

The gift comes at a crucial time for the Duke Blue Devils, who are aiming to make a statement in the tournament after a rollercoaster season.

They lost in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament to the NC State Wolfpack after snagging a No. 2 seed and being one of the favorites for the title alongside the Tar Heels.

Their roster is burgeoning with talent including Kyle Filipowski who is expected to be a round one pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, lights-out shooter Jared McCain, Captain Jeremy Roach and the talented Tyrese Proctor.

During his pre-game news conference, Kyle Filipowski showed confidence in his team while showing that the Blue Devils have not forgotten last year’s disappointing 62-52 first-round loss to the Tennessee Volunteers.

“When we play our best basketball, there is no one that can stop us,” Filipowski said. “Obviously, Jared wasn’t here last year to experience what we went through, but none of us forgot about what happened with Tennessee in the second round. I think that just added a little bit more fire to us, to the returning guys.”

Jared McCain’s shooting ability will be one of Duke’s go-to weapons after he dominated the James Maddison Dukes during their second-round matchup, breaking the record for most made 3-pointers in an NCAA tournament game for the Blue Devils.

The Blue Devils go into the game against Houston, should they defeat the defensive rearguard led by Jamal Shead, they will finally shed the lightweight tag.

The winner of the Sweet 16 matchup will either face the Marquette Golden Eagles or the NC State Wolfpack in an Elite Eight matchup.