ESPN: Arizona Will Retire Bibby's Jersey

The Freak

The Freak

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Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. -- The University of Arizona will retire the jersey of Mike Bibby, the point guard who as a freshman led the Wildcats to their only national championship.



[size=-2][/size][size=-1]Mike Bibby[/size]
[size=-2]Point Guard
Sacramento Kings[/size]
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[/size][size=-2][/size]2004-2005 SEASON STATISTICS[size=-2]GM[/size][size=-2]PPG[/size][size=-2]RPG[/size][size=-2]APG[/size][size=-2]FG%[/size][size=-2]FT%[/size][size=-2]-[/size][size=-2]-[/size][size=-2]-[/size][size=-2]-[/size][size=-2]-[/size][size=-2]-[/size]







He is the third Arizona player to receiver the honor, joining Sean Elliott and Steve Kerr.





The ceremony will take place before Arizona's exhibition game against Sonoma State on Nov. 11.





Bibby, entering his fourth season with the Sacramento Kings, was NCAA Division I freshman of the year in 1996-97.





He left college after his sophomore season and the Vancouver Grizzlies made him the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft, the highest selection ever of an Arizona player.





Bibby, who grew up in Phoenix, is the son of USC coach and former UCLA star Henry Bibby.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=1902227
 
i thought they already retired it.. and if i remember correctly, it was during valentines day last last year?

hehe what was i thinking.. :o
 
Hey LMM!

Yeah, Bibby was awesome at Arizona, been a fan on his ever since he was a Freshman there. Their backcourt was stacked those years with Bibby/Simon/Terry/Dickerson.
 
Nikos said:
Hey LMM!

Yeah, Bibby was awesome at Arizona, been a fan on his ever since he was a Freshman there. Their backcourt was stacked those years with Bibby/Simon/Terry/Dickerson.
Click to expand...

I agree. I loved them those years. Dickerson got hurt, but whatever happened to Simon?
 
[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Basketball: Wildcats to retire Bibby's jersey [/font]


from the arizona daily wildcat




[font=trebuchet, trebuchet MS, arial, helvetica, times new roman, times, serif][size=-1][font=verdana, arial, helvetica][size=-2]By Roman Veytsman
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Friday, October 15, 2004

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The Arizona athletics department announced yesterday its intention to retire the jersey of former Arizona basketball player and NBA star Mike Bibby Nov. 11 before an exhibition game against Sonoma State in McKale Center.

Bibby spent an eventful two seasons in Arizona, leading the Wildcats to the 1997 NCAA championship, and winning the national Freshman of the Year Award. In his career, Bibby was a consensus All-American, a Pacific 10 Conference Player of the Year, and a member of the All-Final Four team in 1997. He still ranks in the top 10 in five UA basketball statistical categories.

Bibby joins UA legends Steve Kerr and Sean Elliott as the only players to see their jerseys hanging in the rafters of McKale Center.

"It's very well deserved and it's a tremendous honor," said UA assistant coach Josh Pastner who was also a teammate of Bibby at Arizona. "He's been a great representative of the university."

Originally from Phoenix, the 6-foot-1 point guard came the UA in the fall of 1996 and left as the highest draft pick ever from Arizona, getting drafted second overall by the Memphis Grizzlies. Currently playing for the Sacramento Kings, Bibby has had a successful NBA career up to this point, including taking the Kings to the Western Conference Finals.

"He's one of the best players at his position in the world," Pastner said. Bibby averaged 15.4 points per game at Arizona and used his silky-smooth shooting stroke to shoot 39 percent from the 3-point arc. He also dished out 5.5 assists per game and holds the record for most steals in a single season. But none of those stats would have come without the hard work and dedication that he put in.



"He and I worked out every single day for two consecutive years," Pastner said. He would make 500 shots on game days. He worked seven days a week. It didn't matter if it was Christmas, Hanukkah or New Year's. He was in the gym every single day. He was extremely dedicated."

That dedication is one of the reasons Bibby helped enhance Arizona's basketball reputation, Pastner said.

"Mike means a lot to the program," Pastner said. "He's a very good person and he does things the right way. He represents our university and our community at the highest level. We're very fortunate that he represents our alumni at the University of Arizona." Bibby is arguably one of the best players to wear the Wildcat uniform, or "the best player other than Josh Pastner," as the assistant coach pointed out. Now Bibby's career will be represented by his jersey on the wall of McKale, reminding fans of the peak of Arizona basketball.

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Congrats to Mike Bibby for receiving such high accolades from his alma mater. Okay, Mike, now your next goal.......playing like a superstar and having your jersey hanging in the rafters of ARCO Arena. :cool:
 
I also could have sworn that they were set to retire his number last year as well. Then again for some reason some stores around where I live were selling quite a few of his Arizona jerseys.

I thought they retired Jason Gardner's as well?

Oh well, congrats Mike :)
 
Does anyone else find a certain amount of irony in colleges retiring the jerseys of players who essentially dropped out of school and never graduated?
 
Bricklayer said:
Does anyone else find a certain amount of irony in colleges retiring the jerseys of players who essentially dropped out of school and never graduated?
Click to expand...
I hadn't thought about it until you mentioned it...

Interesting commentary on the state of athletes and education in colleges today.

What's important? Grade point average or locking down that lucrative professional contract? Guess it's pretty clear where Arizona's priorities lie.

Not to take anything away from Mike...
 
Bricklayer said:
Does anyone else find a certain amount of irony in colleges retiring the jerseys of players who essentially dropped out of school and never graduated?
Click to expand...
I think with some players there is an exception. Mike Bibby was the best player on the best team in the history of that school. He led them to a national championship. He has never done anything to embarrass the university, plus he is probably the most popular Arizona Wilcat in any sport at any time. On top of all that, he has a fat wallet, and probably makes generous donations. It is like an entertainer who receives an honorary doctorate, but never went a day of college.

Apparently there is no rule that says you have to be a college graduate. It would be nice, but this is a whole different generation.
 
Purple Reign said:
I think with some players there is an exception. Mike Bibby was the best player on the best team in the history of that school. He led them to a national championship. He has never done anything to embarrass the university, plus he is probably the most popular Arizona Wilcat in any sport at any time. On top of all that, he has a fat wallet, and probably makes generous donations. It is like an entertainer who receives an honorary doctorate, but never went a day of college.

Apparently there is no rule that says you have to be a college graduate. It would be nice, but this is a whole different generation.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm. Much better response than my first one...

It's still a little sad, however, that "He has never done anything to embarrass the university" is considered something worthy of praise, even in passing.
 
Now if they're retiring the jersey of.....say Damon Stoudamire rather than Mike Bibby, then I would severely question the whole process of retiring jerseys.

From the University's site on their jersey retiring process:

Based on department policy, only student-athletes who were recognized as national athletes of the year, or received a major national "athlete of the year" honor are eligible for their jersey to be retired. Numbers are not retired, only the jersey is retired.
Click to expand...
LMM, I don't think we're crazy that his jersey was supposed to have been retired already if you consider the following statement:

"We are very happy that Mike's professional schedule allowed for us to recognize him this year," said UA Athletics Director Jim Livengood.
Click to expand...
That seems to me like they tried to but he couldn't go due to scheduling conflicts

http://uanews.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/UANews.woa/wa/MainStoryDetails?ArticleID=9925
 
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