With his scoring record eclipsed, Bibby looks to impact Beach Ball Classic as coach

Mike Bibby’s Beach Ball Classic record for points in a game endured for 19 years, long enough for Bibby to return to the tournament with his record intact.

But it didn’t survive long enough for him to make it to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center for his tournament coaching debut Saturday night.

Bibby’s record of 48 points set in 1995 with Shadow Mountain (Ariz.) was broken on opening night of the 2014 Beach Ball on Friday by Franklin (Ohio) senior guard Luke Kennard, who poured in 52.

Bibby, who played 14 years in the NBA before retiring in 2012, was informed that he still held the record earlier this year when the Shadow Mountain team he now coaches was being recruited to play in the tournament. He harbors no ill will.

“Records are made to be broken, that’s why you have them, so I’m glad the kid did it,” Bibby said.

Mullins sophomore Jalek Felton scored 51 in a win over Myrtle Beach on Saturday afternoon to drop Bibby to third before his team took the floor in the first round.

Bibby led one of the more entertaining teams in the Beach Ball Classic’s 34 years.

Under coach Jerry Conner, who started the program in 1974, the Matadors played at a frenetic pace that was similar to the style of Paul Westhead’s legendary Loyola Marymount University teams and included little defense or offensive structure.

If you have a shooter and playmaker like Bibby, it can work. Shadow Mountain won an Arizona state title that same 1995-96 season.

“Just get it and go,” Bibby explained. “It was just get the ball out and get ahead, and if you’re open, shoot it.

“You just want to get up and down and give yourself enough looks at the basket. We averaged about 92 points a game that year, so the shots were getting up and we won a lot of games.”

Bibby’s career high in high school was 53 points and he averaged 35 per game his senior year.

Those who saw Bibby play in Myrtle Beach in 1995 surely remember him, though Bibby recollects little about the Beach Ball.

“I remember the good teams, the good competition. That’s about it,” he said. “I don’t really remember coming to the hotel and stuff like that, it’s all like a blur to me. I remember playing in the games, but as far as the gym I don’t remember any of that.”

His high school was allowed only two out-of-state tournaments, and it chose Beach Ball and an event in Las Vegas.

His Shadow Mountain team got off to a sluggish start in the 1995 eight-team Beach Ball championship division, losing to eventual runner-up Glen Oaks of Louisiana 69-60 in its opener. But it brought some life to tournament from there, earning a 104-82 win over Paintsville (Ky.) and falling 88-78 to Eau Claire in the third-place game.

Bibby scored 48 and 45 in those games, and the 45 even remained unmatched until Kennard scored 45 last year.

Bibby still holds the Beach Ball three-game point total record of 118, which is one more than Kobe Bryant scored in 1995, and is just one point behind the four-game tournament record total set by Nick Emery of Lone Peak (Utah) in 2011.

After winning Shadow Mountain’s first state title and an NCAA title as a freshman at the University of Arizona in ’97, and playing for an NBA title with the Miami Heat in 2011, Bibby is now making his mark in coaching.

Though he’s officially a Shadow Mountain volunteer assistant because he doesn’t hold a degree or teach at the school, he’s the de facto head coach, and he led the Matadors to their third state title and a 29-3 record in his first season last year.

Shadow Mountain is 9-2 this season and won its Beach Ball opener 67-47 over Scott County (Ky.) and has a tough test against Bishop Gorman (Nev.) at 8:45 p.m. Monday in the quarterfinals.

Bibby had Conner as an assistant last year, and though he still likes to play an up-tempo pace, he employs a different style with his team. The primary difference?

“We run plays and stuff,” Bibby said. “I’m trying to focus more on defense, help defense and making sure you help your teammate, because defense is hard.

“If we get stops we get out and run, but you can’t run if you don’t get stops. Give up jumpers rather than layups, and when the shot goes up get the rebound and go.”

Shadow Mountain often employs a full-court defense to push the pace. “We pick up full-court most of the time, run a lot of traps to try to get the game fast-paced,” Bibby said. “A lot of teams we play against try to slow the game down against you so you get less touches and the score is closer.”

Fans who missed Bibby’s 1995 performance were going to get a taste of his style this year through his son, Michael Bibby, but the 6-foot-2 junior tore meniscus in a knee two weeks ago and is expected to miss up to another two months.

“He plays almost exactly like I did,” Bibby said. “He’s the spitting image of me. He has a little bit more flare and stuff like that, but he can shoot. I’ve had him doing shooting drills since he was 6 years old.”

Michael Bibby already has scholarship offers from Southern California, Memphis and Oregon. He said he has surgery scheduled Jan. 6 to shave the damaged meniscus, and was looking forward to showcasing his skills at the Beach Ball.

“I feel like I play better when I go against better competition on higher stages,” Michael Bibby said. “This hurts a lot. I was looking forward to this all year. … This is our first real tournament out of state for high school, so this is cool.”

Mike Bibby is the son of career coach Henry Bibby and isn’t new to coaching. For the past seven years during NBA offseasons he coached his son and many of his current Shadow Mountain players on an American Athletic Union (AAU) traveling team called Team Bibby. His cousin would coach the team in his absence.

“My main thing is helping these kids try to learn basketball,” Bibby said. “… I’ve been a pretty smart player. My main thing is I have a son, he watches you growing up, he’s had a ball in his hand ever since he was born. So you want to teach him, and I had nothing else to do but coach, so he’s playing basketball, I figured I might as well be the coach and teach him what I know.”

Bibby, 36, said he finds coaching to be stressful, and he stresses that when he’s getting a point across he’s not yelling. He’s NOT YELLING. “Everybody thinks that I yell a lot. I don’t really yell. It’s just a loud talk. My voice carries. I have a loud voice,” he explained. “You have to be firm with the way you talk. I try to teach them when you’re out there [on the court] and you’re talking it has to be firm so they recognize and are aware.”

Does he see himself forging a career in coaching? Bibby has three daughters but Michael is his only son and he’ll be out of high school in another 17 months. “I probably will,” Bibby said. “I’ve got nephews and cousins and stuff still playing basketball so we’ll see what happens. Maybe once I get all the kids out of the house, maybe I might try to go to college or the NBA and see what happens.”

Bibby received a vote of confidence from his son.

“I like playing for him. I wouldn’t want any other coach,” said Michael Bibby, who averaged 19.3 points, 7.7 assists and 3.2 steals as a sophomore. “… I think he’s got the hang of it. The way he talks to the boys they’re all like his kids. I think he’s got it.”

This story was originally published December 28, 2014 at 9:22 PM with the headline "With his scoring record eclipsed, Bibby looks to impact Beach Ball Classic as coach."