Justin Bibbins has quickly become a leader for the Utes, but big tests await with Arizona and Arizona State coming to town

Thanks to graduation and transfers, the Utes came into this season with potentially a huge void in the backcourt next to returning junior Sedrick Barefield.

Now as Pac-12 play gets into full swing, it’s clear that all it took to fill that void was 5-foot-8, 150-pound graduate transfer Justin Bibbins.

In just 13 games, Bibbins has already taken a leadership role, provided a needed perimeter scoring option, shown a steely-nerved demeanor in crucial situations of close games and a willingness to do the dirty work such as chase down rebounds and hold his ground and take charges which dislodge him and send crashing to the hardwood.

Utah (10-3, 2-0) will likely need all of that and more from Bibbins, a former Long Beach State standout, when they host 14th-ranked Arizona (11-3, 1-0) Thursday in the Hunstman Center. Fourth-ranked Arizona State (12-1, 0-1) visits Salt Lake City on Sunday evening. Utah enters its Pac-12 home opener unbeaten at home and without a conference loss after a road sweep of Oregon and Oregon State last weekend.

The Utes face a tall task against preseason conference favorite Arizona, but one of the most important thing Bibbins brings with him when he steps on the court might be the sharp edge and competitive nature. Nearly always the smallest player on the court, having spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career playing in a lower-profile conference, Bibbins refuses to let opponents intimidate him.

“I’m just going to compete every time I come out here to the best of my abilities,” Bibbins said following Sunday’s win at Oregon State. “Whether that’s a chip on my shoulder or not, I’m just going to come out here and compete.”

Bibbins a native of Carson, Calif., has shot 50.9 percent from the field overall and 48.5 percent from behind the 3-point line — the third-best percentage in the Pac-12. He’s second only to Barefield on the team in free throw percentage (81.8 percent) and ranks just behind David Collette in scoring (13.1 points per game). Bibbins also ranks sixth in the conference in assists per game (4.5).

Questions and doubts about how Bibbins’ game would translate from the Big West to a Power 5 conference were certainly valid coming into this season. Bibbins remained steadfast that he could play the same way he has throughout his basketball career and have success against bigger and more athletic opponents from higher profile schools. This week, Bibbins credited the supporting cast around him with the Utes for giving him more opportunities than he had at Long Beach State.

“It makes it easier when I have bigs and guys that can space the floor, scorers on the floor as well,” Bibbins said. “I’m just shooting open shots at this point.”

Utes coach Larry Krystkowiak has said that the coaching staff thought highly of Bibbins as a high school player, but Krystkowiak’s reservations were centered around playing two small guards — the 5-foot-10 Brandon Taylor was with the Utes when Bibbins began his college career.

“He’s providing a spark on both sides of the floor, and he’s competitive and makes guys around him better and is shooting the ball quite well as well and has proven to be a good defender in the backcourt. He’s giving us a lot of things that we were hoping that he would give us,” Krystkowiak said.

The point guard position naturally carries a burden of leadership as the one the coaching staff relies on to make sure people are in the right spots and to make decisions with the ball on the fly, but that’s leadership typically comes with time.

A newcomer to the program, Bibbins eased into that role over the summer with an entirely new group of teammates. Krystkowiak said this week that he pulled Bibbins aside earlier this season and told the senior the team needed him to start leading. It’s no rare sight during a stoppage of play to see Bibbins pointing or barking to one teammate if not multiple teammates to assure they’re on the same page.

“We needed a leader, missing [Lorenzo Bonam] from this last year,” senior forward Tyler Rawson said. “We needed a veteran point guard to come in and run the program, and he’s done a great job of coming in and taking care of business. He’s stepped up as a leader on and off the court, just making those big plays for us in games and always being that hustle guy that we can always count on.”