Despite dealing with an academic scandal, Orlando Antigua and South Florida have reeled in another recruit for their 2016 class.
Michael Bibby Jr., the son of former NBA guard Mike Bibby, committed to the Bulls on Friday. The Phoenix native and product of Shadow Mountain High School is a three-star recruit and is not ranked in the ESPN top-100. He is the 7th best player in the state of Arizona though and the 56th ranked point guard in the nation.
Bibby received offers from Florida State, Gonzaga, Memphis, Oregon, Oregon State, TCU and USC, in addition to South Florida. Some of these high major programs likely saw his family history/background, and his talent at 6’3″, 175, and figured that they could develop him into a solid four-year talent.
That was until he suffered a knee injury and underwent two surgeries during his junior season of high school.
Because of the durability concerns, Bibby was off the radar during his senior campaign despite averaging 19.3 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Luckily for both parties, South Florida discovered his talent this summer in Las Vegas.
He was impressive in Las Vegas in July, hooking up with a Utah team. He said that a South Florida assistant coach saw him and relayed the information to the head coach.
“I just wondered why no schools wanted me,” he said. “I’m not saying I’m the greatest thing that ever happened in Arizona. I got Player of the Year in Arizona. I thought I did pretty good and played some of the top teams in the country. No one on our team got any looks. We’ve been a top team for quite some time in AIA.”
The Bulls will add Bibby to what is already an impressive recruiting class for a team that hasn’t had much success under Antigua. USF landed four-star guard Troy Baxter (the gem of their class), three-star shooting guard Malik Fitts, and West Oaks Academy shooting guard Andres Feliz.
Baxter should have the most immediate impact as a long athletic forward, but the combination of Bibby and Baxter could be even more devastating over time.
Bibby doesn’t have the skills his father had, but if he stays healthy, this could be a steal for the Bulls.