Louder, please

Sporting News, The, Dec 18, 2000 by Sean Deveney

"This whole team is quiet," says Grizzlies assistant coach Michael Adams, who spent 11 years as an NBA point guard. "It's tough to get anybody to talk, and Mike is no exception. But we've been working on Mike because, obviously, if you're the point guard, you're the start. The offense starts with you, you've got to give directions and move people around.

"(Bibby) will call the play out, but that's it. We want him to go beyond that. Even in timeouts, he'll come in and won't say anything. I mean, he's not a rah-rah guy, and it's hard to put pressure on someone, not only to play a certain way, but to talk more, too. He's been quiet for a long time, and it's hard to change someone."

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDLY

It's the first quarter of a home game against Denver, and Bibby, having missed his first shot of the game, has the ball about 15 feet from the basket, coming off a high screen. He has an open shot and begins taking it. But midway into his motion, his body crumples like a marionette -- he has changed his mind, he is passing up the open shot. He slides the ball to Reeves. Lowe pops off the bench. Reeves makes a jumper, but Bibby knows his coach is not happy with him. He should have taken the shot.

Trying to soothe Lowe before the shouting starts, Bibby taps his chest. "I have got to shoot that," he says. "I know." Bibby shoots 7-for-15 the rest of the game.

But it's a lesson Bibby still is learning: He can't pass up open shots. His instinct is to pass and set up his teammates, but just as he is being prodded into being more assertive with his mouth, he also is being encouraged by Lowe and Adams to flaunt his jumper. It's something Hollins pushed him to do last season.

"He is getting there," says Hollins, now coaching the Las Vegas Silver Bandits of the International Basketball League. "He is much more confident and sure of himself, sure of his abilities. He has more of an understanding of what he is doing out there, so things fall into place. You have to remember, he is only 22, and if he stayed in college he would be a rookie this year."

Despite his youth, Bibby has a mild lifestyle. In the game against Denver, for instance, he got off to a sluggish start because he had not been sleeping much -- his infant daughter had been sick for a week, and Bibby had been tending to her.

While Bibby adjusts to life far away from Arizona, he's also adjusting to life with the Grizzlies.

"He is just learning still," Vancouver guard Damon Jones says. "We talk sometimes about getting him to be more of a leader out there, getting him to act like a coach on the floor. When he talks, players react to it. He is doing it more."

Sure, Bibby is being asked to change his personality a bit and to change the fortunes of Vancouver basketball, too. But Jones says anyone can change, even Bibby. He is a good witness -- he sometimes goes out to dinner with Bibby on the road.

"And I saw him eating carrots," Jones says. "It was just recently. I don't care what he tells you, I saw him."

Sean Deveney is a staff writer for THE SPORTING NEWS.