Bibby's number retired

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Bibby's number retired

The former Arizona star wants his son to wear No. 10, too.

By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, November 12, 2004

TUCSON, Ariz. - Mike Bibby must have made quite an impact in two years to have his No. 10 jersey high atop Olson Court at Arizona's McKale Center.



Imagine if he'd have stayed all four - it might be Mike Bibby Center, huh?

Then again, when your freshman season concludes with the 1997 NCAA title, it provides a little juice to the résumé.

"I don't think anybody ever thinks their jersey is going to get retired," Bibby said, "but I'm happy that they are doing it."

Bibby's number joined those of Sean Elliott and Steve Kerr as the only retired Wildcats numbers. But Bibby does not plan to have his there forever.

"I wore it in high school and college, and I had a lot of people in my family before me wear it," he said. "I plan to take it down from the rafters at Arizona and (my) high school so (7-year-old) Michael can wear it when he comes and plays. I'm going to get Peja's son to come play, too."

The current Kings point guard was not a huge scorer at Arizona, but coach Lute Olson said his primary characteristic was character.

"He's a winner," Olson said after his Arizona team defeated Sonoma State before a sellout crowd of 14,552. "His teams won in college and in high school, and he carried both of those teams on his back. He just has an unbelievable confidence in his ability."

One of the few places Bibby lacks confidence is in front of a crowd with a microphone in his hands instead of a basketball. So, in the postgame ceremony flanked by his mother Virginia, wife Darcy, brother Hank and son Michael, Bibby's acceptance speech was short and direct.

"I'm not good at this type of thing," he said before thanking the members of the coaching staff, athletic department and the fans for their help and support.

He said he had some things written on a piece of paper in his pocket but decided to come from the heart. Maybe he was just shaken up by the video montage that featured him making numerous jump shots and included two dunks, one of the two-handed, rim-hanging variety. Said Olson: "As you can see from that highlight film, Mike didn't miss a shot in two years."
 
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