Bee: Mike Bibby's coming-out party
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports...14500112c.html
Mike Bibby's coming-out party
With a hint of show biz and more maturity, the Kings guard is ready to take center stage
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
CULVER CITY - The "Wheel of Fortune" makeup ladies have it all - powder, foundation, mirrors and magic, everything that helps Vanna White look just as striking today as 20 years ago.
They're working on Mike Bibby now. Yes, that Mike Bibby, the Kings point guard who agreed to come out of his shell and onto the show in a move so surprising that friend and colleague Richard Jefferson of the New Jersey Nets said he was "shocked" and "amazed" to hear Bibby was one of the 15 NBA players taking part in the shows that will air the week of Oct. 31.
"This is not a Mike Bibby thing to do," Jefferson said. "Mike's not one of those self-promoting guys. You don't see him doing a lot of advertisements, a lot of commercials. He's a family guy, has his three kids. Very quiet."
But this is the new Mike Bibby, the Bibby who wants his name and face out there more than ever before, the Bibby who speaks up more in locker rooms, in interviews, who has learned the quiet route might not lead to where he wants to go - or let him lead the way he wants to.
He's mingling inside a Sony Studio in Culver City, looking pure Hollywood in his black pinstripe suit and diamond earring. Yet the old Bibby is in there, too, and all the cosmetics in the building can't cover up the nerves that seem to be taking over.
He picks his nails. He double-checks with the stagehand on where he should be, what he should be doing when the cameras roll. When his name is called, he stands near the famous wheel and says to his fellow contestants, "Are any of you guys nervous? I'm nervous."
There's something happening here that goes beyond the game show. This is different, which is fine, because Bibby is all about different these days.
The most significant change of the Kings' offseason might not be the acquisition of Bonzi Wells or Shareef Abdur-Rahim, or the loss of Cuttino Mobley or Bobby Jackson. It might be the one move that didn't require a news release: the shifting of Bibby to the forefront of the Kings movement.
His friends and family say they've never seen him so determined to make the Kings his team, to lead them back among the Western Conference elite and earn that long-awaited All-Star nomination while he's at it. This is Bibby being seen, being heard. In June, he proclaimed himself the Kings' leader. Come November, he plans to show why.
"He's matured enough, been in the league long enough, and it's time for a veteran player like that to step up and take the team," said his father, Henry Bibby, who played nine seasons in the NBA. "You've got to be responsible for the outcome of your team, good or bad, and you've got to accept whatever happens. I think he's ready for that.
"I think before, he really kind of blended in when you had guys like (Chris) Webber there, Vlade (Divac), Bobby Jackson, Doug Christie. But now with everybody leaving, he'll step up and show everybody how good he really is."
The marketing of Mike is only part of the plan, i.e. events such as "Wheel of Fortune" that are viewed by 19 million people every night and can only help with his nationwide name recognition. But the other part started late last season, when the mouse in Bibby grew more lion-like before, during, and after Game 5 of the Kings' first-round playoff series against Seattle. The Sonics had taken the trash talking to a whole new level, finally sparking a rare reaction from Bibby before the Game 5 tipoff.
"I'm upset that they're talking like that," he said. "It's still the first round. It ain't over yet. And the people that are talking don't need to be talking."
He criticized center Jerome James, who was in the midst of a dream series, by saying, "Four games doesn't make you a star," and took a shot at forward Reggie Evans. Bibby surprised even himself with his mini-tirade, shaking his head and saying, "See, y'all got me working up a sweat."
But come game time, his attention turned to his teammates. He harped on anyone who wasn't doing his job - young and old, rookies and veterans - as the Kings went down 122-118 to end the season.
"I've never seen him show that kind of emotion and that kind of leadership that he did against Seattle in the playoffs," said Matt Nielsen, who first met Bibby as a second-grader in Phoenix and is a member of his group of friends and family known as "Team Dime."
"He was going off, not yelling at them but yelling to them - to Brad (Miller), Peja (Stojakovic), everybody. That was such a good sign to me to see that."
Bibby had words for his teammates behind closed doors as well.
"I started getting more vocal in the playoffs," Bibby said. "I was talking in the locker room at halftime, before the game. I was talking back to their trash talking. I've got to be that way now."
Not that he's ready to talk about everything. Despite all the Kings' changes, Bibby wants to let things unfold before he weighs in on this season's potential, though he said he considers Abdur-Rahim and Wells just the talented-and-tough types the Kings need.
"We look good on paper," Bibby said. "But we've got to go out there and play well together. That's what training camp is for, what practice is for. We've got hard-nosed guys coming in, guys who won't take no (stuff)."
This is the second time Bibby has played with Abdur-Rahim, who was his teammate in Vancouver from 1998 to 2001. Bibby said things will be different in Sacramento.
"This is a different style game than (in Vancouver)," Bibby said. "A lot of it up there was just throw it in the post, and get out of (Abdur-Rahim) and Big Country's (Bryant Reeves') way. We'll see how it goes when we get together with the new system."
As always, winning will matter the most to Bibby. But being an All-Star would be welcome, too.
"You don't go from winning everything (as a kid and through his national championship at Arizona) and making every all-tournament team and all that to not caring about that stuff anymore," Nielsen said. "He just thinks it's the politics of the NBA, and his motto is, 'If they want me there, I'll be there.' He acts like he doesn't care, but deep down inside, he does."
The latest snub was the worst, when Bibby - who finished the season averaging a career high in points (19.6) to go with 6.8 assists per game - was having the finest showing of his seven-year career. Yet neither he nor any other King was selected. Still, Henry Bibby said his son never has talked about being an All-Star. Since their much-publicized rift was mended some three years ago, the father and son talk frequently about life and basketball but not about individual accolades.
"We talk a lot, and he talks about winning," Henry said. "He's not talking about minutes played or how many shots he got. He's a winner. That's the key with Mike. His ego doesn't get in the way."
Nor does the lack of an All-Star nod get in the way of Bibby's reputation around the league.
"As long as you're respected among your peers, that's all that matters, and he has my utmost respect," Golden State point guard Baron Davis said. "He's proven himself. He continues to reinvent himself. Everything he does on that court, you'd best believe every other player recognizes it. He is a true All-Star and one of the elite point guards." Said Jefferson, who was recruited by Bibby at Arizona but never played with him: "Mike is such a great player, such a clutch player. I joke with him, because he doesn't jump very high and he's not very fast, yet he's still one of the most effective guys in the NBA because he's so intelligent. He knows the game, and he knows what it takes to get it done."
Jennifer Bauman is doing more of the leading here in Round 2. She's Bibby's 24-year-old game-show partner from Antelope, a technology teacher who's looking to get rich with Bibby's help while his winnings will go to charity. They're the leaders with $7,200 when Vanna clears the board for the next puzzle.
Before long, Bibby and Bauman have every letter but the last one. It's a _USTLING OUTDOOR MARKET, but Bauman doesn't know if they should pick an "H," for hustling, or a "B," for bustling. She looks to Bibby for help, but he says nothing. She picks the "H" and loses a trip to Mexico. Not long after, they spin "bankrupt" to end their run. If only the new Bibby had spoken up.
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