The Lute Olson coaching tree continues to grow.
Former Arizona point guard Mike Bibby has been hired as the head coach at Sacramento State, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday.
Hours later, UNLV finalized a deal to hire UA alum Josh Pastner as its next head coach, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello. Pastner’s deal is for five years.
Mike Bibby, a 14-year NBA veteran and former Sacramento Kings star, has agreed on a deal to become the next men’s basketball head coach of Sacramento State, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/8H8nHp4udE
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 24, 2025
Per sources, Pastner is set to agree to a five-year deal to coach UNLV. The deal is expected to be completed tonight. https://t.co/rZ0gTJ4A7f
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 25, 2025
Bibby and Pastner join Georgia Tech’s Damon Stoudamire as active college basketball head coaches to have played under Olson.
Bibby takes over a Sacramento State program that is investing in a revamped basketball facility as the school looks to position itself as a player in the next round of conference realignment.
Sacramento State has never made an NCAA Tournament appearance at the Division 1 level. The Hornets are coming off a 7-25 season in which they finished 10th in the Big Sky Conference.
Bibby is returning to familiar stomping grounds. He played seven seasons with the Sacramento Kings and led the franchise to the 2002 Western Conference Finals.
Bibby has no prior college coaching experience. He coached Shadow Mountain High School for five years and briefly coached Hillcrest Prep.
A Phoenix native, Bibby joined Olson’s program in 1996-97 as a heralded freshman. Bibby put together perhaps the best freshman season in Arizona history, averaging 13.5 points, 5.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds on his way to winning Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors. Bibby played an instrumental role in Arizona’s 1997 national championship run.
Bibby was a First Team All-American as a sophomore and won Pac-10 Player of the Year after averaging 17.2 points, 5.7 assists and 3 rebounds.
He was drafted second overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1998.
Pastner to UNLV
Pastner – a college teammate of Bibby – is back on the coaching saddle after spending the last two seasons doing studio work.
Pastner previously spent seven seasons as Georgia Tech’s head coach and before that led the Memphis Tigers. Pastner has a career 276-187 record and five NCAA Tournaments appearances, four of them coming at Memphis.
He takes over a UNLV program that last made the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and hasn’t reached the Sweet 16 since 2007. The Rebels went 18-15 this season, finishing sixth in the Mountain West.
UNLV has been widely rumored as a candidate to join the new Pac-12.
Pastner played four seasons at Arizona as a walk-on and got his coaching start as an assistant under Olson.
The hirings of Bibby and Pastner come on the same day that Texas officially announced Sean Miller as its new head coach.