By Shawn Stewart
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, former NBA star Mike Bibby is set to become the next head coach at Sacramento State.
Bibby played 14 seasons in the NBA, spending seven with the Sacramento Kings. He finished his career averaging 14.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
The NBA vet’s agent, Tyler Glass, negotiated the deal in recent days as the university prepares to open a new basketball facility next fall, per Charania.
Sacramento State finished last season 7-25, ranking 10th in the Big Sky Conference. The program has seen four different head coaches over the past decade and school president Luke Wood has been “aggressive” in improving the school’s athletic programs—a step in the right direction with Bibby at the helm, per Charania.
Bibby was the second overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies. He went on to play for Atlanta, Washington, Miami and New York in addition to Sacramento.
Before the draft, Bibby played two seasons at the University of Arizona, leading the Wildcats to a national title as a No. 4 seed with a win over top-ranked Kentucky in his freshman year. He averaged 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists during his college career.
Over the past six years, Bibby has been coaching at his alma mater, Shadow Mountain High School, in Phoenix, Arizona, taking the team to four consecutive state championships and five total during his tenure.