Arizona Basketball: Will Mike Bibby’s hire help Wildcat recruiting?

Hillcrest Prep’s hire of Mike Bibby as head coach will have an impact on recruiting for Arizona Basketball, but how much? That’s the question we’ve dive into.

In the ever-changing landscape of college basketball, recruiting has become extremely competitive. Top programs across the country, like Arizona Basketball, are having to find ways to attract top talent to choose their school over others. The recent hire of Mike Bibby as head coach for Hillcrest Prep may be one of those ways for Arizona.

One of the best point guards to have played for the Wildcats, Bibby, knows a thing or two about how special it is to play in Tucson. He helped this program win their first and only National Championship in 1997...as a freshman!

Having been recruited by one of the all-time great coaches, Lute Olson, Bibby learned from the best on what it takes to win. He also went on to play in the NBA for 14 seasons, then coached at his former high school Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix. The combination of his playing experience and coaching experience makes him the perfect fit to coach some of the best at Hillcrest Prep.

More from Basketball Recruiting

• Arizona Basketball offers Alijah Arenas, son of Wildcat Legend Gilbert
• UNC’s Caleb Love announces transfer to Arizona Basketball
• Spanish PG Conrad Martinez commits to Arizona Basketball
• Arizona Basketball adds San Diego State Transfer Keshad Johnson
• Euro Forwrd Paulius Murauskas commits to Arizona Basketball

Being a former Wildcat and now the head coach of one Wildcat commit, Dalen Terry, it’s almost as if it was meant to be. There are also two other possible Wildcats who will be playing alongside Terry, Puff Johnson and Michael Foster.

It’s one thing for commits to try and recruit on their own, which has become more of a common thing, especially through the use of social media. But when a former player is the coach of one of the premier programs in the nation, it makes such a huge impact on the pipeline for Wildcat recruiting.

Could this be what takes Arizona Basketball recruiting to the next level?  Under Sean Miller, there have been some of the best to have chosen Arizona, but with the hire of Bibby that could drastically change for the better.

With two possible additional Wildcats playing for Hillcrest Prep, we will soon know how much of an impact Bibby’s hire will have. What we do know is that the connection he has to Arizona and what he has done speaks volumes. Players deciding where to play are always seeking advice and no better place to turn then there head coach, Mike Bibby.

At Zona Zealots, we are excited about the possibilities that come along with Mike Bibby now being the head coach at Hillcrest Prep. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!