By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer
At a packed fundraising reception inside downtown’s Kimpton Sawyer Hotel Aug. 20, Sacramento State men’s basketball unveiled the star power driving its future. Fans and donors gathered for the SAC 12 event and got a chance to meet head coach Mike Bibby — the former Sacramento Kings guard hired in March — and legendary NBA center Shaquille O’Neal, who recently signed on as the program’s volunteer general manager.
For Bibby, the move back to Sacramento was years in the making.
“I tried to get this job about four years ago,” he said. “And, you know, it just wasn’t the right time…. I played half of my NBA career here. I just thought it would be a good fit.”
Bibby described the job as mutually necessary — the program needed his experience, and he needed a place where he felt at home. “I thrive in situations where I feel comfortable. And I’m comfortable in Sacramento. I think the school needed me just as much as I needed them.”
His goal is straightforward: change the culture of Hornets basketball and turn it into a winning program.
Bibby said he’s bent on instilling a tougher mindset in his players. “It’s a mindset that these guys have to get,” he said, noting that the mental game is often what separates winning teams. “When you’re tired, don’t tell yourself you’re tired. Get through it… If I’m injured, I’m not injured, I’m hurt, I’m sore. You have to get through it.”
Though the team’s practice time has been limited by NCAA rules — just eight hours a week in the offseason — Bibby said he wants players to learn to push past limits, play for each other, and overcome adversity. “Change the mindset of being strong, play for each other, and wanting to win,” he said.
Bibby pointed out that Sac State’s push to grow athletics is being driven from the top. He praised President Luke Wood and Athletics Director Mark Orr for their direct involvement and consistent support. “There was one coach I talked to, who had only seen the president one or two times in years of coaching,” Bibby said. “I see Luke. Luke answers my call. He’s at the practice. He came down and met every recruit that we have. It’s just a breath of fresh air to see that. They have my back just as much as I have theirs.”
O’Neal’s presence, he added, has already made a difference in recruiting. While O’Neal works mostly from a distance, Bibby said he is active in calling prospects and lending his voice where it matters. “He’s helping a lot … trying to get kids, make calls, and do stuff in that aspect.”
O’Neal’s son, Shaqir — a 6-8 wing who made 41% of his threes at Florida A&M — transferred to Sac State to play for Bibby.
Bibby said O’Neal, one of the greatest centers in NBA history, operates on his own terms but is deeply committed. “You don’t push him into anything. He either says yes or no, and you live with it,” Bibby said. “But he’s just that type of guy who is in that tier of greatness but he’s down to earth and a great guy to have with the program”
When asked about expectations, Bibby said he feels no pressure. “They won seven games last year, and my thing is to make improvements,” he said. “I made a promise to try to get them there. That’s our goal, to try to get to the NCAA tournament.”
He cautioned that the Big Sky Conference should not be underestimated, with tough programs like Northern Colorado and Montana, but he said the Hornets will compete every night.
When asked if the team will be over .500 this season, Bibby smiled and said, “Oh, yeah.”
O’Neal said his decision to come to Sac State began with a phone call from Bibby — his former NBA rival. He described the former Kings guard as one of the few players who ever stood up to him on the court, a sign of respect that carried into their current partnership.
He agreed to serve as general manager when Bibby first asked him — even before his son decided to transfer to the university. That move only deepened the connection.
“My son’s a guard, I can’t really teach him much,” O’Neal, 7’1” and 325 pounds in his prime, said. “But Mike wasn’t a good player, he was a great player.” For O’Neal, Bibby’s experience as an NBA guard gives his son the kind of mentorship he couldn’t provide himself.
O’Neal didn’t hide his concerns about the influence of “name, image and likeness” (NIL) deals and the donor-backed collectives fueling them. He said the influx of money risks making young players too comfortable too soon, with some athletes earning millions before they have even turned professional.
“I think that’s bad for competition,” O’Neal said. “If you want to make it to the next level, this isn’t the place to start being comfortable.”
To him, the true dream isn’t a short-term NIL check but reaching the level of NBA stars like MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who now earns more than $70 million annually.
O’Neal also warned that once college athletes are paid, the sport begins to resemble the professional ranks without the same expectations of professionalism.
“Once you start paying people, it becomes professional,” he said. “Now, if we’re going to be professional, we’ve got to hold them to professional standards.”
He pointed to examples of players at LSU, his alma mater, and elsewhere who accepted donor money, then left soon after for better offers. O’Neal said some athletes are already using their status to leverage schools against one another, chasing the highest payout instead of development.
“I know guys at LSU that took a whole lot of money, and then they didn’t like the situation, and then left,” O’Neal said. “I think that’s messing with the game.”
Looking ahead, O’Neal said his vision for Sac State basketball is to build a program that commands attention.
“Just to make some noise,” he said. “The fact that Mike has some really good, hungry players… if you have a coach with a nice resume, he’ll make you do things you didn’t know you could do.”
He praised what he saw on the court during early practices — players who were “scrappy,” with style, shooting, and grit. With Bibby’s background, O’Neal said, the team has the kind of leadership that players will trust.
And while the Sac State men have never reached the NCAA tournament, O’Neal made it clear that is the goal.
“I always set my goals high. So, yeah, I envision that,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of talent. We got Mikey. We got a lot of guys… it boils down to heart, effort, and want. And you want it more than the other guy. Even though I’m Shaq, I wasn’t always Shaq. I had to work at it. There were those guys ahead of me, and I wanted what they had, so I went and took it.”
For local business leaders, the arrival of Bibby and O’Neal signals more than just a basketball reboot. Mark Daya, a real estate agent with Sac Platinum Realty who attended the SAC 12 fundraiser, called it a turning point.
“This is the time right now,” Daya said. “Nobody really cared about Sac State basketball before this year. Now that Coach Bibby is here, now that Shaq is here, we could do something special. And today is the day that we’re going to really launch.”
He argued that a strong Sac State program could ripple across Sacramento’s economy, from hotels and restaurants to business investment and university enrollment. “The university is a city’s greatest asset,” he said. “And now you have two megastars in Sacramento going to be part of the sports program. If we don’t take advantage of this, what the heck are we doing?”