By
Keith Carmona
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Suns oust Grizzlies 105-94
On the weekend that the UA men's basketball team began its quest toward the national championship, two former Wildcat guards boasting championship rings of their own returned to McKale Center and showed the rigors of NBA life.
Vancouver Grizzlies' guards Michael Dickerson and Mike Bibby, who formed the Wildcats' 1997 championship backcourt, received a rousing response last night. But much to the demise of the 10,000 people in attendance, the two didn't perform like their days as Wildcats.
Dickerson and Bibby, who were two of Vancouver's top scorers last season, combined for just 18 points and had nine turnovers in the team's 105-94 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
The game began and ended with scenes reminiscent of Bibby and Dickerson's glory days in McKale Center, but neither player caused the arena to erupt like they often did while donning the UA Cardinal and Navy.
Bibby hit an 18-foot jumper off a pass from Dickerson to open the game's scoring while Dickerson ended the evening with a baseline three-pointer off a Bibby pass.
"It means a lot to play in a familiar place with the crowd always behind me," Dickerson said. "I was missing a lot tonight, but they were still cheering for me. That's just a great feeling."
After missing his first seven attempts, Dickerson finished with five points on 2-for-9 shooting and four turnovers. Those statistics stray far from the 18.2 points per game he averaged last season for the Grizzlies.
Bibby posted 13 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, but turned the ball over five times.
The Grizzlies lost 60 games last year, far exceeding the total number of defeats Bibby and Dickerson suffered in their years as Wildcats.
However, the two agreed that with the additions of Sydney Lowe as head coach and Stromile Swift - their first round pick out of Louisiana State - Vancouver is going to right itself this season.
"(I am) tired of losing I guess," Bibby said. "We have lost every season here and a lot of us aren't used to losing. There will just come a time; it won't happen over night, it will just come in time."
Bibby also received the support of his cross-court rival, Suns point guard and Olympic gold medalist Jason Kidd.
"He's young, he's going to be a good player in this league," he said of Bibby. "Vancouver is going to be a good team."
