Like mother, like son

Sporting News, The, Jan 20, 1997 by Anthony Gimino

Arizona freshman Mike Bibby clearly has lived up to the pressures that come with being the son of an NBA player and college coach. But when he faces his father's team, it's his mother he wants to impress.

Virginia Bibby's son stands at the free-throw line, his team trailing by one, 3.6 seconds left. Calmly, with poise uncommon for a freshman, Virginia Bibby's son makes the first one, then the second, and soon he is running all over McKale Center, arms raised in celebration.

Virginia Bibby's son has flashed onto the college basketball scene, debuting for Arizona with 22 points against North Carolina, recording a school-record eight steals against Texas, hitting double-digit assists in three of his first eight games, and, of course, those game-winning free throws against Cal.

All in all, everything has been just fine for the new star point guard, fine except for that one thing people keep putting behind his name, as if it somehow defines him. Hardly. Yet he has seen it in print so many times--Mike Bibby, son of Henry Bibby ...

"That kind of makes me upset," says Mike who otherwise says his father is generally a closed subject "They don't have to say Henry Bibby; they just need to say Mike Bibby. But every time after my name . . . there's his name."

It could make for a heartwarming story: Talented son following in the footsteps of his father, a former UCLA All-American guard nine-year NBA player and current coach at USC. But father and son have been estranged for many years; dad was never there. Henry was either playing or coaching, always roving the country, seldom at home, and now he is in the process of a not-so-amicable divorce.

So when Arizona (10-2, 3-0 in the Pac-10) plays USC (7-5, 2-2) Thursday in one of the most intriguing matchups of the season, you will have to look harder for the heartwarming story. And part of that story will be sitting in the stands as she always is. Always. Mike is proudly a mama's boy, Virginia Bibby's son.

"It really is amazing all the things she has done for us," says Mike, referring to two older brothers and a younger sister. "It's unrealistic, really, to see my mother do so much so right And that's one of the reasons I love her so much. She has always been there."

Virginia was the one who encouraged Mike while he was growing up in Phoenix. She was the one who pushed him to practice his free throws in the back yard, the one who badgered him into running or lifting weights or jumping rope.

Before each game, the 6-1, 180 pound guard searches the stands for his mom, comforted to see her there, the same now as when he was at Shadow Mountain High School becoming the state's career scoring leader.

"I guess he likes that support. He remarked once, `If I don't see you in a crowd, I can't pray,'" Virginia says. "I think he was just kidding."

Like everyone else, Virginia has liked what she has seen. The Wildcats have early season victories over North Carolina, Utah, Texas and Stanford, unexpectedly breaking into the top 10.

Bibby has been the team's third-leading scorer with 12.7 points per game. He is shooting nearly 40 percent on his 3-point attempts and ranks among the league leaders in assists at 6.25 per game.

Henry, after becoming the USC coach at mid-season last year, contacted Mike about bringing those talents to Los Angeles, realizing the odds were long but wanting him to know a scholarship was available.

"I asked him one time if he had an interest in SC and he said, `No,'" Henry says. "He is at a very good school with a very good coach. I'm pleased to see him progress in a way I knew he would."

Mike said he thinks occasionally on the lost opportunities growing up, but the topic was not discussed in the Bibby house.

"I didn't want to talk about it because I didn't want them to feel as though they were missing out on something," says Virginia, who, like Mike, maintains almost no contact with Henry. "So I made sure I was there for everything, for all of them.

"But Mike and I have a closer relationship, and I can't pinpoint why. I really can't I guess he really hears me when I talk to him and he actually wants my input. That makes a difference. He once told a reporter, `I can tell my mom anything.' Well, that's how it should be."

But Virginia says they don't talk much about the feelings that might be stirred by Thursday's game or the rematch, which comes February 15. Henry, asked if it was going to be weird, replied, "I don't know. I've never had this happen before.

"It is another basketball game for us. That is how I have to look at it. That is probably how he is looking at it. I'm sure he wants me to do well, and I want him to do well."

So far, Mike has been as good as advertised, his passing skills earning him comparisons to his favorite player, Jason Kidd. He is not as physical as the Phoenix Suns guard but comes equipped with a better shot at the same stage of their careers.

Moreover, he has been without ego, unselfish on the court and still a little shy around the cameras and tape recorders. Arizona coach Lute Olson, who usually keeps his adjectives to himself, seemingly can't help himself with Bibby.