http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/13022732p-13869065c.html
Bibby: I'm the Kings' leader
He takes offense when people say the team is rudderless.
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, June 7, 2005
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In many ways, the Kings and point guard Mike Bibby experienced the same type of season.
It was full of changes, highs and lows, constants and inconsistencies. Many of the reasons the season unfolded as it did for the team and Bibby were created by forces beyond anyone's control.
There are many observers, however, who believe the Kings only will go as far as Bibby takes them. Certainly, that's a gross exaggeration in a team-oriented game such as basketball. But Bibby says there's no need to look any further than him to find the Kings' leader.
"I was reading that this team didn't have a leader," said Bibby, who played in 80 games for the fifth time in a seven-year NBA career that began with him playing the entire 50-game lockout-shortened 1999 season. "I'm this team's leader. I don't know what critics mean when they say we don't have a leader. People may say I'm not vocal, but they may not see everything. I know I was vocal in the playoffs and a lot more vocal in the final game about trying to get people to do what we needed to do."
Bibby, who turned 27 on May 13, has a reputation for having a quiet, unassuming personality. In part, that comes from his poker-faced, on-court persona that usually is altered only after he has hit a big shot or is whining about a foul call.
"I think by the nature of his position and skill level and history as a guy on the floor, he's going to have to be an organizer and leader and set the tempo for how we're going to play," Kings president Geoff Petrie said.
The 6-foot-1 Bibby normally is reserved around people he doesn't know well and can be unwilling to reveal his personality in what usually are brief interviews. Teammates and coaches, however, know Bibby's penchant for running his mouth with well-timed or sneaky digs at nearly any vulnerable facets of their being. It could be a shirt, a haircut or the pronunciation of a word or name.
Kings assistant coach T.R. Dunn bore the brunt of many Bibby barbs as the season unfolded. Dunn couldn't stand in the right place while discussing the team's game plan. Bibby also would mock Dunn for the Southern accent that affected the way he pronounced some of the NBA's unusual names.
Clearly, huge changes in the Kings' roster greatly affected the roles of Bibby and his teammates. Only Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson have been with the team longer (although Corliss Williamson played with the Kings during his first five seasons, beginning in 1995, before returning in February). Bibby joined the Kings in June 2001.
He arrived in Sacramento as a young player attempting to fit in with a veteran squad on the verge of challenging for an NBA Finals bid. And in his first season, Bibby showed the mettle to take and make big shots despite the clear leadership hierarchy of Chris Webber and Vlade Divac.
With Divac, Doug Christie and Webber departing, the ball, proverbially and literally, has been placed into Bibby's hands. Bibby's 19.6 points per game during the 2004-05 regular season gave him the highest-scoring average of his career. His 413 free-throw attempts were a personal high and his 124 steals a team high.
But Bibby had to work much harder for his points. He shot .360 from the three-point arc, his lowest percentage since his rookie season, and .775 from the free-throw line after three consecutive seasons above .800.
Bibby said he believes the Kings need time to assimilate and determine roles.
"This is not saying anything bad about anybody," he said. "We need to have our roles set so everybody knows what they are supposed to do. If you're supposed to shoot the ball, then shoot. If you set screens, then set screens.
"If you've got to knock somebody in the head, then do that. And we always have to help each other defensively. We're out there like we're scared to get into foul trouble. That's why we give up so many layups."
Bibby is like every other player wondering how the negotiations between the players and the league on new collective bargaining agreement will unfold.
But he's back in the gym and making plans to be ready no matter when the season starts. "I'm going to be more vocal next season and try to lead better," he said. "If we get a chance to come together, we'll be all right."
Bibby: I'm the Kings' leader
He takes offense when people say the team is rudderless.
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Get the latest news in sacbee.com's Kings Alert newsletter. Sign up here.
In many ways, the Kings and point guard Mike Bibby experienced the same type of season.
It was full of changes, highs and lows, constants and inconsistencies. Many of the reasons the season unfolded as it did for the team and Bibby were created by forces beyond anyone's control.
There are many observers, however, who believe the Kings only will go as far as Bibby takes them. Certainly, that's a gross exaggeration in a team-oriented game such as basketball. But Bibby says there's no need to look any further than him to find the Kings' leader.
"I was reading that this team didn't have a leader," said Bibby, who played in 80 games for the fifth time in a seven-year NBA career that began with him playing the entire 50-game lockout-shortened 1999 season. "I'm this team's leader. I don't know what critics mean when they say we don't have a leader. People may say I'm not vocal, but they may not see everything. I know I was vocal in the playoffs and a lot more vocal in the final game about trying to get people to do what we needed to do."
Bibby, who turned 27 on May 13, has a reputation for having a quiet, unassuming personality. In part, that comes from his poker-faced, on-court persona that usually is altered only after he has hit a big shot or is whining about a foul call.
"I think by the nature of his position and skill level and history as a guy on the floor, he's going to have to be an organizer and leader and set the tempo for how we're going to play," Kings president Geoff Petrie said.
The 6-foot-1 Bibby normally is reserved around people he doesn't know well and can be unwilling to reveal his personality in what usually are brief interviews. Teammates and coaches, however, know Bibby's penchant for running his mouth with well-timed or sneaky digs at nearly any vulnerable facets of their being. It could be a shirt, a haircut or the pronunciation of a word or name.
Kings assistant coach T.R. Dunn bore the brunt of many Bibby barbs as the season unfolded. Dunn couldn't stand in the right place while discussing the team's game plan. Bibby also would mock Dunn for the Southern accent that affected the way he pronounced some of the NBA's unusual names.
Clearly, huge changes in the Kings' roster greatly affected the roles of Bibby and his teammates. Only Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson have been with the team longer (although Corliss Williamson played with the Kings during his first five seasons, beginning in 1995, before returning in February). Bibby joined the Kings in June 2001.
He arrived in Sacramento as a young player attempting to fit in with a veteran squad on the verge of challenging for an NBA Finals bid. And in his first season, Bibby showed the mettle to take and make big shots despite the clear leadership hierarchy of Chris Webber and Vlade Divac.
With Divac, Doug Christie and Webber departing, the ball, proverbially and literally, has been placed into Bibby's hands. Bibby's 19.6 points per game during the 2004-05 regular season gave him the highest-scoring average of his career. His 413 free-throw attempts were a personal high and his 124 steals a team high.
But Bibby had to work much harder for his points. He shot .360 from the three-point arc, his lowest percentage since his rookie season, and .775 from the free-throw line after three consecutive seasons above .800.
Bibby said he believes the Kings need time to assimilate and determine roles.
"This is not saying anything bad about anybody," he said. "We need to have our roles set so everybody knows what they are supposed to do. If you're supposed to shoot the ball, then shoot. If you set screens, then set screens.
"If you've got to knock somebody in the head, then do that. And we always have to help each other defensively. We're out there like we're scared to get into foul trouble. That's why we give up so many layups."
Bibby is like every other player wondering how the negotiations between the players and the league on new collective bargaining agreement will unfold.
But he's back in the gym and making plans to be ready no matter when the season starts. "I'm going to be more vocal next season and try to lead better," he said. "If we get a chance to come together, we'll be all right."
, he has a weakness and knows he needs to work on it. For a guy with a reputation as a gym rat, I am confident he will improve as much as his physical abilities will allow.
