I spent about 30 minutes Saturday catching up with Mike Bibby for a column in today's Bee, and wanted to add a few more offerings from the conversation. The former Kings point guard - affectionately referred to as "Bibbles" by several of my female colleagues in the office - was pretty funny. He still has that great laugh. With his Miami Heat hosting Game 1 of the NBA Finals tonight, he teased (Dallas Mavericks reserve) Peja Stojakovic from afar, reminisced about his 6 1/2 seasons with the Kings, and said he spent much of the weekend monitoring the girls and boys AAU teams he sponsors in his hometown Phoenix.
"My son (Mike) is on one of the teams," said Bibby, whose wife Darcy and four children remain in his hometown because of school. "He's my oldest, he's 13 now, but he's just like me. He ain't the fastest guy, but he's smart, heady, and he can play. That's what I told him will make him successful. Don't let anybody outwork him. I try to put him at the point, but he's pretty interchangeable - can play one, two or three. I learned some of that from Rick (Adelman). I try to incorporate plays I learned in Sac, Atlanta, and now here."
Bibby, who seemed to account for all the clutch shots during his time with the Kings, asked what was going on with Sacramento's arena situation. Similar to several of his former teammates, he has been following developments via newspapers and websites. As for the team he joined in March, he repeatedly mentioned how impressed he was with the defense. "It reminds me of my first year in the league (with the Vancouver Grizzlies)," he continued. "I remember playing San Antonio. Everywhere I turned, there was somebody guarding me, helping out. They (Spurs) made it hard to do anything. I haven't had that again until I got here. It's all about defense, helping out. I'm fulfilling my dream, playing for a championship."
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