Former Shadow Mountain HS, Arizona star Mike Bibby hired as Sacramento State head coach

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

Former Sacramento Kings star Mike Bibby will be hired as the basketball coach at Sacramento State, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Monday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the move wasn't scheduled to be announced until Tuesday.

ESPN first reported the decision.

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Bibby won an NCAA title as a player at Arizona in 1997 and then starred in the NBA for 14 seasons, with his biggest success coming in seven seasons with the Kings.

He helped Sacramento make it to Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bibby retired in 2012 and has experience coaching in high school in Arizona but has not coached above that level.

Sacramento State has been looking to increase its profile in college athletics with hopes of being able to move from the FCS level of college football to the FBS level and a spot in a bigger conference like the Mountain West or even a newly formed Pac-12.

The Hornets are currently a member of the Big Sky.

The move to hire Bibby is part of that effort as he will try to revive a struggling program.

The Hornets went 7-25 this season under interim coach Michael Czepil, who was promoted last spring after David Patrick left to take a job as associate head coach at LSU.

Sacramento State had gone 28-42 in two seasons under Patrick and the program has never made an NCAA Tournament since moving up to Division I in 1991-92.

The Hornets have posted a winning record only twice since then, going 16-14 in 2019-20 and 21-12 in 2014-15.

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Arizona sports The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBAs Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury.

The Indoor Football Leagues Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.

Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.

The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tours highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.

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