Sac State introduces Mike Bibby:

https://www.youtube.com/live/dq1q3CuVbZE?si=mjbNo_qOlzCaEpJd

Les definitely has his positives, but we are still a middling program and his record here sounds like it is breakeven. We were strong for a few years in a row a couple times but he could not take that success and create a more consistent winning program. All the while other Big West times blew us by like CSUN coming out of the cellar to pass us by and UCSD coming out of DII to blow right by us. I thought I heard that our total athletic budget is one of the highest in the nation for a school at the FCS football level. So, it seems we have a competitive budget.

Hawkins was a good guy and had success, but Plough seems to have brought new energy to the program. Maybe the basketball program could find some new energy in a new coach.

agree. I respect coach Les and think he is a great guy. But we need some change and excitement in MBB.

Coach Plough is great, but he inherited a 6th year (?) QB, NFL caliber RB, deep WR depth chart and favorable schedule. This year will be different, lots of new faces and growing pains.

This was posted by a member of the Hornet forum:

What a train wreck of a coaching staff. Not one coach has college coaching experience. It is a collection of Bibby’s friends. Most of them worked on the same high school coaching staff were he got his only coaching experience. How can you name someone an associate head coach when they pretty much have no coaching experience. Guess it makes sense when the head coach has no experience. Of course one of them is his son. As for the roster our one returner is getting a fifth year because of the ruling that if you played at a junior college you get an extra year of eligibility for next year only. At best he is a rotational player on any other Big Sky team. Our first signee happens to be Shaq’s son who was not good enough to start for two lower level teams. Our second signee happens to be the son of another former NBA player who was a walk on at his last program and didn’t get in a game. There were a few players from last years team that an experienced coach would have wanted to keep but they were all asked to go in the portal. Not holding out much hope for Hornet’s basketball.

https://bigskyfans.com/threads/2025-26-roster-and-coaches-updates.30065/#post-285286

From the Hornet forum:

According to documents obtained by The State Hornet, Sacramento State’s newly hired men’s basketball coach, Mike Bibby, is under contract until 2030 and will receive $300k per year. The 5-year deal includes multiple incentives and relocation assistance in the form of a $20k lump sum.

In the contract, Bibby will receive a supplemental talent fee of $150k, a vehicle stipend of $400/month and $15k if Sac State wins the Big Sky Conference championship.

https://bigskyfans.com/threads/2025-26-roster-and-coaches-updates.30065/

You might remember the first year but I remember the horrific game where UOP Pacific came and ran off to something like a 20-2 start and it never got better. Stewart left with the program in shambles. Jim Les started from pretty much scratch.

I wouldn't call this roster "in shambles", these are all Stewart recruits and players:

Corey Hawkins (redshirt)
Eddie Miller (Cal transfer)
Ryan Sypkens (school 3 pt record holder)
Tyler Les (3 ball)
Josh Ritchart (6'9" wing, pro ball career)
Alex Tiffin (role player big, transfered and started for Sac for two years)

It was Jim Les/Hersey Hawkins NBA connection that brought Corey to Davis for the '12-'13 season (Les' 2nd year).

Payne and Harden were GREAT Stewart recruits. He did some good things for the program.

I always thought it was interesting Tyler Les ended up at Davis from Illinois the season before his dad got here.

Painful memory: Les' first year, the Aggies lost 21 straight D1 games (got an early D2 win vs. UCSC)

I have learned that this isn't the case, though that is one story. Hawkins was already in the pipeline when Les took over.

Hawkins reportedly had communication through the coaching ranks. It's a small fraternity.

Bibby signed Shaquille O'Neal's son, Shaquir O'Neal, recently and is now looking at former NBA player, Nate Robinson's son, Ny'ale Robinson:

Shaq to become volunteer GM for Sac State hoops.
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/44908348/sources-shaquille-oneal-agrees-sacramento-state-gm

it is mostly a figurehead position in college basketball at the moment, like Trae young as Oklahoma GM, and Curry at Davidson. Shaq sure is busy with being an analyst, sheriff, and now GM. Lol.

Well, even of its just a figure head position, it will really help their recruiting.

Wow, SACST understands getting high visibility for the program will attract high level recruits. I like the strategy. UC Davis has to start looking at improving or we are going to get left behind.

yeah. That’s typically what it is done for, hence curry and Trae doing the same. Shaq wants to help his son while also building up his resume to possibly be mama GM in the future. Who knows. Sac does a lot of things I do not recommend (mostly financially) but they are very media savvy and are recruiting better because most recruits and people in X are impressed since they do any real background research.

On the heels of Sacramento State hiring Shaquille O'Neal as general manager and Mike Bibby as head coach, ex-prep phenom Mikey Williams told ESPN on Tuesday that he has committed to play for the Hornets.

Williams transferred out of UCF to play under the tutelage of Bibby and Shaq at a basketball program adding big names. The freshman guard averaged 5.1 points in 14 minutes per game over 18 games for the Knights last season.

Williams left Memphis for UCF following an April 2023 arrest in which he faced nine felonies and a lengthy prison sentence after he was charged for allegedly firing a gun at a car full of people who had arrived at his home. The charges were reduced, and he pleaded guilty in November 2023 to a single felony count of making criminal threats with provisions that would allow him to avoid jail time.

He was sentenced to a year of summary probation in August and his felony charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, clearing the way for him to make his collegiate debut with the Knights last season.

Williams never played a game for Memphis, as he was away from the team while the legal process played out.

Williams, a 6-foot-3 guard with 3.3 million Instagram followers, was considered a five-star prospect early in his high school career, when he garnered national attention -- and praise from some of the NBA's top stars, including LeBron James -- for his dunking exploits and YouTube mixtapes.

Sacramento State is slated to open a new basketball facility on campus this fall. University president Luke Wood, an alum and the youngest president ever appointed in the California State University system, has been aggressive in his approach with the athletic programs, and the additions of Williams, O'Neal and Bibby showcase that.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/44923348/ex-hs-phenom-mikey-williams-leaves-ucf-sacramento-state

I'm cool not doing what Sac is doing.

Mikey Williams Avg 5.1 ppg @ UCF, Watch out. Sac might go into double figures per game with this line up! Even if they don’t win we will sure hear about how cool they are on social media. Lol.
Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill. Their social teams sure knows how to leak insignificant info and make it sound impressive. They even hype up their “new”. BB facility in the recent press releases.
Sac state is like a used cars salesman.
We will see how Bibby and the team does. Hopefully they do okay.

$200K is very big amount of NIL for a player who averaged 5.1 ppg. I wonder where that kind of NIL money is coming from? Williams rated 5 stars out of high school and was headed to Memphis before he got arrested on 9 felony gun charges.

SACST has decided to make sports a revenue generator. Pretty smart move really. They are going to make SACST a place for kids to play high level sports. It's pretty smart. I think next year the SACST football team is primed to do really well with the amount of players they are bringing in through the portal.

The amount of free publicity for the university and now increased revenue with ticket sales is impressive. We really need to step up our game or we are going to get left behind.

What they are doing is great. How they are doing it is not. Even their fans are a little uneasy about things. Absolutely gambling on high risk coaches/players to make a short-term marketing/media splash is a terrible foundation on which to build a program long-term. (I'm talking about football and basketball)

The entire thing seems desperate at this point.

there has to be a better way, right? I mean, if we've reached a point where signing a convicted felon as your 'shooting guard' can be justified by having more fans in the stands, I think i'm ready to opt out.

In the age of influencers, souls go cheap and clicks go high.

Um charged, not convicted. This is still America, sir.

You can't deny the pattern here KD....I mean come on....

200K????

No matter how that works (or doesn't), it sets the expectations. That's a chunk of the NCAA now.

Sac State vs Fresno State football = ...

Williams pleaded guilty to one of the 9 felony gun charges against him and then had that single felony reduced to a misdemeanor by a judge in a plea deal. So, technically on the record, he is not a convicted felon even though he pleaded guilty to a felony charge before the judge changed his guilty plea to a misdemeanor.

Williams pleaded guilty to one felony gun charge on Nov. 30 and one of his attorneys said the 19-year-old is not expected to face jail time.

Williams had faced nine felony counts and up to 30 years in prison after a shooting incident at his home on March 17 in which no one was injured. In a deal with prosecutors, Williams pleaded guilty to one felony count of making a criminal threat and to a special allegation of using a firearm during the threat.

In exchange, the other eight counts were dismissed and Williams was ordered to complete a gun safety course, attend anger management sessions and complete 80 hours of community service. Sentencing has been set for Aug. 12 in San Diego County Superior Court, when the charge would be reduced to a misdemeanor if Williams follows terms of the deal and avoids any criminal offenses, attorney Randy Grossman said.

https://fox5sandiego.com/sports/memphis-recruit-mikey-williams-enters-transfer-portal-5-weeks-after-plea-deal-in-gun-case/#:~:text=Prep%20basketball%20star%20Mikey%20Williams,offenses%2C%20attorney%20Randy%20Grossman%20said.&text=Williams%20was%20one%20of%20the,longer%20appears%20in%20the%20rankings.