Mike Bibby gets college basketball head coaching job
In an effort to bring in some star power, the Sacramento State Hornets have hired former Arizona Wildcats and NBA star Mike Bibby as their new men's basketball coach. ESPN's Shams Charania first reported the news.
Bibby, 46, has six years of high school head coaching experience at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix. He led Shadow Mountain to five Arizona state championships — including four in a row — from 2013 to 2019.
Bibby has never coached at the college level.
Sacramento State competes in the Big Sky Conference, but is making a push to upgrade its athletic programs. Athletic director Mark Orr recently announced plans to build a state-of-the-art, 25,000-seat football stadium, and in December he hired former UNLV offensive coordinator Brennan Marion to be the new head football coach.
In October Sacramento State broke ground on a new basketball arena that is expected to be completed in time for the 2025-26 season. The new arena will replace The Nest, which seats just 1,012 people and is one of the oldest facilities in Division I college basketball.
Sacramento State went 7-25 this season under interim head coach Michael Czepil.
Mike Bibby's Sacramento connection
Bibby played 14 seasons in the NBA, including a tremendous seven-year run with the Sacramento Kings from 2001 to 2008. Bibby played 476 games with the Kings, averaging 17.6 points, 5.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds.
Bibby's best season in Sacramento came in 2005-06 when he averaged 21.1 points and 5.4 assists.
Bibby has been working for NBC Sports California as a pregame and postgame TV analyst.
Bibby played at Arizona for two seasons and led the Wildcats to the 1997 national championship in his freshman season.
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-029877d49238355bd3388a94f90e3c72.jpg "Ben Sherman")
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.