Charles Henry Bibby is a former professional
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player who became a coach after his playing days were over.
Playing career
As a starting
point guardPoint guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
and stellar outside shooter in college, Bibby and the UCLA Bruins won three straight
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball ChampionshipThe NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
s (1970-72) under legendary head coach John R. Wooden. Bibby led the Bruins through the first 47 games of what became an 88-game winning streak and was named an All-American his senior year.
In the
1972 NBA DraftThe 1972 NBA Draft was the 26th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on April 10, 1972 before the 1972–73 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...
, Bibby was drafted in the fourth round of the
1972 NBA DraftThe 1972 NBA Draft was the 26th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on April 10, 1972 before the 1972–73 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...
by the
New York KnicksThe New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
and in the second round of the 1972 ABA Draft by the
Carolina CougarsCarolina Cougars was a basketball franchise in the former American Basketball Association that existed from late 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Carolina in late 1969 after two unsuccessful...
. Bibby opted to play for the Knicks and was with the team for two and a half seasons, which included an
NBA titleThe NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
in 1973. That team featured eight future Hall-of-Famers—
Willis Reed Willis Reed, Jr. is a retired American basketball player, coach and manager of basketball teams. He spent his entire professional playing career with the New York Knicks. In 1982, his outstanding record and achievements were recognized by his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall...
,
Walt FrazierWalter "Clyde" Frazier is a retired American basketball player in the National Basketball Association . He was blessed with a unique combination of court vision, quickness, and size for a guard...
,
Dave DeBusschereDavid Albert DeBusschere was an American NBA and major league baseball player and coach in the NBA. In 1996, DeBusschere was named as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history....
,
Bill BradleyWilliam Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
,
Earl MonroeVernon Earl Monroe is an American former professional basketball player known for his flamboyant dribbling, passing, and play-making. His nicknames is "Earl the Pearl".-Early years:...
and
Jerry LucasJerry Ray Lucas was a basketball player from the 1950s to the 1970s, and is now a memory education expert. In 1996, the NBA's 50th anniversary, he was named one of the 50 greatest players in National Basketball Association history...
, as well as future NBA coaching legend
Phil JacksonPhilip Douglas "Phil" Jackson is a retired American professional basketball coach and player. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association . His reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 through 1998;...
and the team's then-coach,
Red HolzmanWilliam "Red" Holzman was an NBA basketball player and coach probably best known as the head coach of the New York Knicks from 1967 to 1982. Holzman helped lead the Knicks to two NBA Championships in 1970 and 1973, and was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985...
.
Bibby spent nine overall seasons in the
NBAThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, and is mostly known for his time with the
Philadelphia 76ersThe Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
. He was a part of the 1977 and 1980 Sixers teams that made the
NBA FinalsThe NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
but eventually lost both times.
Coaching career
Bibby started his coaching career in the
Continental Basketball AssociationThe Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
(CBA) and won two championships in 1982 and 1989.
He coached the
Winnipeg ThunderThe Winnipeg Thunder was a professional basketball franchise based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, from 1992 to 1994. The Thunder played its inaugural season in the World Basketball League, which folded before the schedule ended...
.
In 1996, he was named coach of the men's
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team at the
University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
(USC), and kept that position for nine seasons. Bibby had an overall won-loss record of 131-111 at USC. He led his 1997, 2001 and 2002 teams to the
NCAAThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
tournament, including an "
Elite EightThe term Elite Eight, or less commonly called "Great Eight", refers to the final eight teams in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship; and, thus, represents the national quarterfinals. In Division I, the Elite Eight consists of the...
" appearance in 2001, but was fired after four games into his ninth season.
On April 7, 2005, he was named Head Coach of the
Los Angeles SparksThe Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...
of the
Women's National Basketball AssociationThe Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
(WNBA), replacing interim coaches Karleen Thompson and
Ryan WeisenbergRyan Weisenberg, is an American basketball coach.Weisenberg attended St. Francis High School, a catholic high school in La Cañada Flintridge, California, where he lettered in basketball, football, and baseball. Weisenberg attended Azusa Pacific University, receiving a master in education, and...
. However, only 28 games into the season, he was replaced by his Assistant Coach,
Joe BryantJoseph Washington "Jellybean" Bryant is a retired American professional basketball player, current coach, and the father of Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant. Bryant was the head coach of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks from August 22, 2005 until April 4, 2007...
.
On January 17, 2006, Bibby was hired by the
Philadelphia 76ersThe Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
as an assistant coach on
Maurice CheeksMaurice Edward "Mo" Cheeks is a retired American professional basketball player and assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association from May 23, 2005 to December 13, 2008...
' staff and remained there until the end of the 2007-2008 season when his contract was not renewed.
On February 6, 2009, he was hired by the
Memphis GrizzliesThe Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...
as an assistant coach.
Bibby is the brother of
Jim BibbyJames Blair Bibby was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During a 12-year baseball career, he pitched from 1972-1984 with the St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and Pittsburgh Pirates, with whom he was a member of its 1979 World Series Champions...
, a former
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
, and father of
Mike BibbyMichael "Mike" Bibby is an American professional basketball player who most recently played for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. He is a 6'2" point guard, and he attended Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, Arizona and played collegiately at the University of Arizona. In...
, a guard with the
Miami HeatThe Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
.
External links