No Arizona product that has gone on to the NBA has done more for the state of Arizona or given back to the state as much as legendary Arizona basketball product Mike Bibby. After an illustrious NBA career, college basketball career, where he led the University of Arizona to a national championship, and also one of the best high school basketball careers in the country, Mike Bibby has returned to the state of Arizona to help promote many of Arizona's top young boys and girls basketball prospects with his successful club program - Team Bibby. While Bibby has put a lot of his resources into the program, he has especially put a lot of his time and energy into the development of his son - Shadow Mountain High School's gifted 5-foot-10 sophomore point guard Michael Bibby Jr.
Michael Bibby has developed at his own pace over time, but is now beginning to really come into his own as a player and now also as a college prospect. Bibby has been absolutely on fire this high school season for a young and ultra-talented Shadow Mountain team that is shocking the state, once again.
Last season, Shadow Mountain would begin the season at a terrific pace - winning their first 9 games of the high school season. What was most impressive last season was that most of the top prospects on the team were freshmen. This season, Shadow is off to an 8-1 start, only after falling to two-time defending state champion Corona Del Sol HS this weekend in the championship game of the Hoop Hall West Invitational at Grand Canyon University.
While this year's group of talented sophomore and junior prospects are loaded for the future, Bibby is the catalyst and has been scoring at a stellar pace. Bibby numbers this high school season have been ridiculous, as he is averaging a team-high 23.5 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals per/contest. He put up a game-high 31 points in a narrow win over Desert Mountain HS (80-79) early in the season, and is coming off pouring in a game-high 24 points against Corona Del Sol on Saturday evening.
As a result of Bibby's performance against Corona, he would earn his first scholarship offer from a division-I college program, and it was a big one. With USC assistant coach Tony Bland in attendance for the game, Bibby's performance was enough for the Trojans to extend an offer to the talented young prospect.
There were also loads of national and regional scouts in attendance on Saturday evening, as such top-rated scouts as Jerry Meyer (Rivals.com), Clark Francis (Hoop Scoop), Josh Gershon (Scout Hoops) and Frank Burlison (Long Beach Press Telegram) were all in attendance to watch the top-rated national high school programs in participation on Saturday evening. As a result, each scout also caught the Corona-Shadow Mountain game, and so look for Bibby to gain early attention among the nation's elite prospects for the 2016 class.
While Bibby has developed a great deal over the past two years that I have seen him play, he still has a lot of room to develop and improve as a player. Much of this development though will come naturally as he gains physical maturity and also physical strength. What he does possess right now is an excellent shooting stroke with unlimited range, a very nice overall feel for the game and a slick handle of the basketball. He also possesses superior confidence in himself and his ability to make plays for himself or his teammates - confidence gained through playing hundreds of basketball games on the AAU/club circuit with his father and his talented teammates.
Bibby will need to improve his shot selection over time though, as he takes shots still quickly in the offense and, often times, with defenders draped all over him. He still does not possess the physical strength and quickness to blow by defenders or create space for himself against better defenders, but he will over time as he c0ontinues to mature.
Over the next two years, we should see this young man become a serious divison-I prospect and one of the elite guard prospects in the West and maybe better. Unlike many prospects, Bibby has the bloodlines, the support and the confidence as a player to become one of the top guard prospects to play in this state.
