Before he even set foot on the McKale Center court, freshman Mike Bibby had a lot to live up to, drawing comparisons to some of the Pacific 10 Conference's great point guards, including Cal's Jason Kidd.

It's safe to say that, so far, he hasn't disappointed.

"I look up to Jason Kidd, and it makes me feel good to be compared to him," Bibby said.

At Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix there was little that Bibby did not accomplish. He averaged 34.3 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals a game as a senior, while leading his team to the state championship.

"The thing that distracts you about Mike is how he can play, and you won't even notice him out there," said UA assistant coach Jessie Evans, who helped recruit Bibby. "The things that he does are so effortless. When he catches the ball, it's like he's already read the floor, so he passes it to the one guy who just has one step on the guy guarding him. You can see it up in the stands, but you wonder, How in the hell did he see it?"

Bibby has already made a big impact in the Arizona lineup. He had 16 points against No. 3 Utah on Saturday and 21 points against then-No. 7 North Carolina on Nov. 22. Yet the UA coaching staff has been more impressed with different areas of his play.

"From watching Mike, he seems the kind of guy who would rather make the pass than the basket anytime," UA head coach Lute Olson said. "And that's hard to say when you're talking about a guy who's averaged over 30 points a game in the last couple of years."

It is this ability, coupled with his great scoring punch, that makes Bibby the ideal point guard. So far this season, Bibby has amassed 21 assists while surrendering 12 turnovers. His 15.3 points per game is second to Dickerson on the team.

The statistics do not, however, give a true perception of the leadership Bibby brings to the floor.

"Mike is going to have a lot of outstanding games. But I think in some of the earlier games he's had to do a lot more scoring than he would have wanted," Olson said. "In the second half of the Red-Blue game he didn't get his first bucket until 15 minutes in the half. Yet his team played extremely well. And that's what a point guard's job is, to make sure the team plays well, even if he isn't doing the scoring."

Offense is not all that Bibby brings to the table. So far this season his tireless defensive effort has rewarded him with eight steals while forcing many other turnovers.

"I've been working real hard on defense," Bibby said. "In high school, we didn't stress defensive play that much. So I've really needed to concentrate on improving."

While Bibby has been successful so far this season, it is inevitable that there will be some times when he will make some freshman errors.

"I've never really had a coach yell at me, but I think I will be ready this year," Bibby said.

"If Coach yells at me, he yells at me. I will listen to whatever he has to say, but I won't get down."

As for the team's perception of Bibby as a leader, sometimes he's too creative on the court.

"You really have to be awake when Mike has the ball," UA sophomore forward A.J. Bramlett said. "Sometimes he makes passes that you didn't think were possible. So if you're not ready, you might take a ball in the face."

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