Henry Bibby has feelings, too.
In heated banter with reporters after Oregon’s 73-69 win over USC on Saturday, Trojans head coach Bibby asked a reporter if the scribe was sensitive.
“Well, I’m just like you,” Bibby said when the reporter answered in the affirmative. “You don’t think I’m sensitive, but I am.”
Bibby was upset after Oregon fans taunted him and his team throughout much of Saturday’s emotional contest. He was particularly upset over taunts of “deadbeat dad” and “your son hates you,” both in reference to Bibby’s son, Mike Bibby, a point guard for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. The two Bibbys have a much-publicized strained relationship, and the USC coach called the taunts a “disgrace.”
“They don’t know me, they don’t know anything about me,” Bibby said. “I don’t think this kind of behavior should be condoned anywhere in the Pac-10 or by the University of Oregon.”
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent responded to Bibby’s comments by defending his home crowd.
“I don’t think it’s a disgrace,” Kent said. “I think this is a great college basketball environment, and I don’t know why that would be said. I’m sure when we go down to their place, I’m going to have to face the same pressure with the noise and the crowd.”
Emotions reached a fever pitch when USC assistant coaches jostled with fans after the contest. According to Trojan assistant Damon Archibald, an Oregon fan taunted the Trojans with profanities as they entered a stairwell to go underneath the court to their locker room. The fan bumped bodies with assistant coaches, and was eventually restrained, but Archibald said the lack of security was “awful.”
“We had to play a game like that, and then we have to deal with the fans?” Archibald said.
Bibby was also displeased with the post-game fracas. According to Archibald, the head coach, who had led his team down the stairs, rushed back up when he heard the profanities.
“This isn’t the first time this has happened,” Bibby said. “Security just didn’t keep people back.”