6'8 seems short, considering who his father is. Wasn't Shaq one of the Lakers players who called Bibby's team "Queens" ?

Yep. Then when the Maloofs were failing he was going to invest in them.

Cherry played JC ball two years, and last year averaged 9.9 points and 5.3 RPG.

I really like what SACST is doing. Very smart to get a name and capitalize on brining in names to play. Getting Shaq to watch his sons games is worth millions in free advertising. Davis should follow up and get a new young coach to attract high quality players.

Nope

Mike Bibby is 46-not that young. Les is 61-far from being too old. Les may need to adjust his strategy, but I don't see a younger and less-experienced coach doing any better.

I think we need to ask and answer the question-

How much is barely making the NCAA tournament (at best) worth to UC Davis ? You can make all the recruiting + coaching changes you want but UCD will never make a serious run at an NCAA Division Imen's basketball title. Women's maybe. The idea that the team can systematically build a big winner by recruiting leading to winning then to better recruiting is nice in theory but every single coach in the nation already believes that. Making it happen despite yearly setbacks is another thing.

I think Coach Les brings a lot to the table beyond his W/L record. His development of the students on/off the court reminds me of Hawk. Les has a knack for finding talent that is flying under the radar and turning them into play makers. I’m hoping that the MW move will help us snag higher rated players. With the right tools Les will produce.

Wow the sac state transfers are impressive

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.

1

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:

Kind of presumptuous to have him pictured in a Sac State uniform before he's even been presented an offer.

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