Mike Bibby is turning to Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders as inspiration in his new role as men's basketball head coach at Sacramento State.
After landing his first player commitment from Shaqir O'Neal, the son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, on Monday, Bibby said he hopes his impact at Sacramento State is similar to what Sanders has done at Colorado.
"I'm going to turn this around," Bibby said, according to Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee. "I have a lot of NBA players who want to send their sons to me to play. We can get kids. We're going to try to have that Deion impact.
"We'll have superstars in the building, active NBA players stop by."
Sanders was hired as head coach of the Buffaloes in December 2022, inheriting a team that had gone 1-11 the previous season, and led Colorado to a 9-4 record and a bowl berth in 2024.
Sacramento State finished 10th in the Big Sky this season, going 7-25 overall and 3-15 in conference play.
Bibby played 14 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 2012. He has not coached at the college level before but spent six years as a coach at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, where he led the program to five state championships.
