After a hectic transfer portal and with more eyes on the program than ever, Sacramento State men’s basketball zeroes in on their final season in the Big Sky Conference.
The team headlined their offseason with the signing of new head coach Mike Bibby, a Sacramento Kings legend and 14-year NBA veteran. The Sac State job is Bibby’s first as a college coach.
“I’m excited to be back in Sacramento,” Bibby said. “I think it’s the right spot for me to be.”
Bibby was previously a coach at Shadow Mountain High School in Arizona for six years from 2013 through 2019, serving his final four seasons as the head coach. During that span, Shadow Mountain won five state championships and had an overall record of 158-23. The Hornets’ new head coach looks to continue his momentum from that time.
“We’re winners,” Bibby said. “Wherever we go, we win.”
Bibby wasn’t the only former NBA player to join the ranks. Former NBA MVP and four-time champion Shaquille O’Neal made national news when it was announced he would accept a role as voluntary general manager of the team.
“Shaq’s a great guy,” Bibby said. “He does a lot of stuff for us, helps us raise a lot of money and helps get some kids in as well. Shaquille O’Neal, you can’t go wrong.”
The Hornets also made big name splashes in the transfer portal, picking up players like sophomore guard Mikey Williams from University of Central Florida and senior forward Shaqir O’Neal from Florida A&M.
Despite all the high-profile personnel coming in, the goal remains the same, and Bibby doesn’t see heightened expectations.
“I make love to pressure,” Bibby said. “There’s no pressure on our guys; we just got to go out there and play.”
The Hornets took the court together for the first time in a preseason game against New Orleans at Kiefer Lakefront Arena. The game was tied going into the second half, but the Privateers pulled away, with the final score being 89-76.
“It opened our eyes. It showed us that the players aren’t ready yet,” Bibby said. “The little lumps that we took that game opened their eyes like, ‘okay, we still got to work harder.’”
Sac State was spearheaded in the game by senior forward Jeremiah Cherry, who had 23 points on 11-of-21 shooting. Cherry, a transfer from UNLV, averaged 9.9 points and 5.3 assists last season for the Rebels.
“I’m just trying to get these guys to come along with me,” Cherry said. “Coach Mike has told me a bunch of times, ‘just do what you do and they’ll follow.’”
With a solid 6-foot-11-inch and 250-pound frame, Cherry is known for his physicality in the post.
“He just needs to use his size. He’s one of the bigger guys in the conference,” Bibby said. “He handled his business in our exhibition game. He’s a manchild out there.”
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Cherry is looking to extend his game outwards from the block and have a breakout season.
“[I want to] expand my game out more to the perimeter. I got the inside game. I got touch, I block shots, I rebound, [just] mid-ranges and upping my points,” Cherry said. “Mark my words, I’m going to be the player of the year in this conference.”
Leading the Hornets’ backcourt will likely be senior guard Prophet Johnson, a transfer from Fairfield University in Connecticut. Johnson averaged 13.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in his junior campaign, earning a third team all MAAC selection.
As a guard, Johnson said he’s trying to pick up as much from Bibby as possible.
“He’s really just trying to instill what he learned throughout his years in the league,” Johnson said. “He’s just trying to show me how to be more of a point guard and play with pace, slow down and read offenses.”
Johnson’s impressive rebounding at the guard position is part of what caught Bibby’s eye in the recruiting process.
“[Johnson’s a] tough player, he gets out there and rebounds the ball. He’s tough on defense, and he’ll knock down shots for you too,” Bibby said. “He’s ready for this chance here.”
All 14 players on the roster for the Hornets this year are new to the squad, with a mixture of both transfer students and incoming freshmen.
“I think we’re coming together super great and super quick,” Cherry said. “We’ve been through a bunch of adversity, and it just builds us up. We’re excited and just ready to win.”
The Hornets look to improve on a 7-25 record from their previous season, which included a 3-15 record in Big Sky Conference play. They’ll also be leaving the Big Sky in favor of the Big West Conference, after playing Big Sky basketball since 1996.
“We’re coming in, we’re starting from scratch and I’m just trying to change the culture here,” Bibby said.
Bibby plans on running a fast, defensively focused brand of basketball during the season. According to KenPom, a statistical analysis system created to judge the strength of all Division I basketball programs, the Hornets are currently No. 8 in offense and No. 4 in defense among Big Sky teams.
“Just play uptempo,” Bibby said. “Have our defense turn into our offense and get easy baskets.”
The start of the Mike Bibby era for the Hornets aligns with the debut of Hornet Pavilion, the new home for men’s and women’s basketball, as well as volleyball. Hornet Pavilion is located inside of The WELL, Sac State’s on-campus gym.
Sac State’s schedule begins with a three-game homestand at Hornet Pavilion. Their first game is Tuesday, Nov. 4 against Dominican University of California at 7 p.m. Pacific time.
“Be ready and tune in, I want everybody to be at the games,” Johnson said. “It’s a brand new year, brand new team, brand new coaching staff and we got a lot coming.”
