Shadow Mountain head coach Mike Bibby draws up a play for his team against St. Mary’s at the St. Mary’s High School gym in Phoenix, Ariz. January 24, 2017.
Phoenix Shadow Mountain basketball coach Mike Bibby said he expects to have his college degree completed in May.
That would open up opportunities for Bibby beyond coaching at the high school level.
“I’m trying to get a job somewhere,” Bibby said. “I don’t know, college or the NBA. … A head coaching job in college. That’s why I’ve been working on my degree.”
First, Bibby will try to guide his alma mater Matadors to their second state championship in three years and complete the school’s first undefeated season.
Shadow Mountain (23-0) opens the 4A Conference tournament at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday by hosting No. 16 El Mirage Dysart.
If Shadow Mountain runs the table, the Matadors could wind up in New York on March 30 to play in the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School Nationals as one of the top eight teams in the nation.
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The Arizona Interscholastic Association has signed off on it. Shadow Mountain has been told by Paragon Marketing that it is one of 12 teams that is strongly being considered for one of the eight spots.
Before this season, Bibby was planning his next move. The 14-year NBA guard spent time at the San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings training camps, soaking up knowledge.
“Just pick up some stuff, just see how the NBA practices are run, background stuff,” said Bibby, who has been running NBA sets (mostly from when he played for the Miami Heat) and practices since he’s been working with Shadow Mountain for four years. “Just take it to the next level, really.”
There is no promise that the super sophomores, guards Jaelen House and Jovan Blacksher, will stick around after this season.
Both players said they want to wait and see what Bibby does, before making plans for the remainder of their high school careers. Bibby has been working with them since they were sixth graders in his club program.
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“We’re just thinking about this year,” Blacksher said. “We’re not thinking about next year.”
Bibby said he doesn’t know what the sophomores will do. But he is surprised that neither has received more Division I college attention.
“You see a lot of guys getting offers from all over the place,” Bibby said. “They’re just as good if not better.”
If this is their final run together, Shadow Mountain will try to leave a legacy.
Suggest human interest stories to Richard Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him at twitter.com/azc_obert.
Shadow Mountain coach Mike Bibby is expected to finish his college degree in May and is looking to become a head college coach
