Legendary Shaquille O’Neal shocked the basketball world at the end of last college season by announcing that he would take over as General Manager of the Sacramento State University men’s basketball program. This marks his first experience of any kind in college basketball since graduating from LSU in 1992.
The presence of his son Shaqir O’Neal and the voluntary nature of his GM role might lead one to believe that his position on the staff is purely symbolic.
Who better than head coach Mike Bibby to shed light on the matter?
Mike Bibby on Shaquille O’Neal’s GM Role
Bibby gave an interview to renowned college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman for the “Off the Carousel“ show on the “Field of 68“ podcast. Speaking about O’Neal, the new Sacramento head coach summarized his role in brief but revealing words:
“It’s Shaquille O’Neal, I mean, you let him do whatever he wants to do, you know, I mean the most you could do is ask, you know, he’s putting money in, he’s made calls…he’s in the business with us.”
Everything seems to indicate that Shaq has taken his participation in the program quite seriously. After all, in the days following the announcement of his acceptance of the position, the legendary NBA Hall of Famer stated his intentions regarding the matter:
“I know what it takes to build a winning culture. This is about more than the banners and trophies, but preparing those student-athletes for life on and off the court,” O’Neal said, according to BolaVIP.
Sacramento State’s Approach to Next Season
Mike Bibby also offered insight into how he and his staff, including Shaquille O’Neal as GM, intend to approach the upcoming season:
“I can’t see us going in there and failing, I mean, I can’t see it. I have high expectations of these kids, and I want us to win the conference,” he said.
“They asked how far, what do we want to do this year. I told them I want to win the conference, I want to make the NCAA tournament … I want my standards to be high, where these guys have goals to reach and then you know have something to play for.”
The Sacramento State Hornets finished the 2024-2025 season with seven wins and 25 losses. They qualified for the Big Sky Conference tournament, but lost in their first game against Weber State.
The Hornets have never played in the NCAA Division I Tournament or the National Invitation Tournament. They played four times in the Division II Tournament, with a runner-up finish (1962) as their best result.
