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Bibby vs. J-Dub, I'll take Bibby

Two years ago in 1998 in the NBA Draft, two highly publicized point guards were picked second and seventh overall.

These two guards - former Wildcat Mike Bibby and Jason Williams - were destined for totally different careers, though.

While Bibby took his talents to Vancouver, were he has remained in obscurity for the past two years, Williams, along with other NBA stars like Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson, has been the poster child for the new flashy NBA.

Granted that William's team, the Sacramento Kings, made the playoffs in his first two years, J-Dub has been grossly overrated.

Chris Webber has been the main reason for the Kings' success, along with the team's deep bench. Plus, if you watch Kings games, and you probably do since they are on seemingly every night, you will see Williams' bald head and tattooed shoulders on the bench come crunch time.

How can the NBA hypes a player who sits the fourth quarter in favor of Tony Delk?

The answer is easy, though, as J-Dub is known for his flashy passes and long range three-pointers. He has become a sort of cult hero for white suburbia, which is why his No. 55 Kings jersey was the top-selling jersey this past year.

This hero status is unwarranted, though.

Have you ever seen Williams play defense? Me neither.

He gives absolutely no energy towards his defense and is consistently lit up by opposing point guards.

Along with his defense, his shot selection is absolutely terrible. Williams thinks once he crosses half-court, he is within shooting range.

Wrong, he shot .287 percent from behind the arc.

That is scary for a point guard. The Kings' 7-foot-1 center, Vlade Divac, shot .269 from three-point range.

Even worse than his three-point shooting was his assist-to-turnover ratio, which was not even two to one.

Williams' stats compared to Bibby's are horrendous, as the Vancouver guard was better in every single statistical category this season.

The difference between Bibby and Williams is that Bibby is willing to make the safe pass, ensuring a teammate's two points, while Williams would rather go behind his back or between his legs while watching the ball end up in some stock broker's lap.

The NBA is doing an injustice to Bibby by failing to promote his quality play.

The Grizzlies are quietly building a solid team around Bibby, Michael Dickerson and Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

With another high draft pick and some solid bodies who can contribute off the bench, Vancouver will pass the Kings on the NBA ladder.

Hopefully, then, fans and the NBA brass will realize that Bibby has the makings to be the next John Stockton, it is just harder to get the recognition in the Pacific Northwest.

Because, unlike Williams, Bibby deserves the hype.