Report: Sacramento State interviews Mike Bibby for coach vacancy

Mike Bibby has long expressed interest in coaching at the college level.

The former Arizona Wildcats point guard might soon get his chance.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium reports that Sacramento State interviewed Bibby for its head coach opening. The Hornets have been without a permanent coach since Brian Katz retired ahead of the 2021-2022 season after 13 years with the school.

Sacramento State finished in a tie for eighth in the Big Sky (11-18) this year under interim coach Brandon Laird. Arizona beat Sacramento State 105-59 in Tucson in late November.

Bibby had great success in his prior coaching job. He coached Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix from 2013-2019, where he led the program to four consecutive state titles in a five-year run.

However, Bibby’s tenure ended abruptly following allegations that he groped a female teacher in in his car on school grounds.

Bibby has denied those accusations.

Bibby, a Phoenix native, is regarded as one of the top players to ever come out of the Grand Canyon State. After leading Shadow Mountain to a state championship, he played two years at Arizona, leading the Wildcats to the 1997 national championship as a freshman point guard before earning First-Team All-America honors as a sophomore in 1998.

The No. 2 overall pick of the 1998 NBA Draft, Bibby played 14 seasons in the league.

In 2017, Bibby earned his degree from UNLV, opening the door for him to coach at the college level.

If hired by Sacramento State, Bibby would become the second former Arizona player to actively lead a Division I program, joining ex-teammate Josh Pastner at Georgia Tech.