Henricksen: Drake lands West Chicago’s Tai Bibbs

West Chicago’s Tai Bibbs helped turn Drake’s very good week into a great week.

With Joliet West’s Teyvion Kirk already on board with a commitment to Drake earlier this week, Bibbs, a 6-1 combo guard, pulled the trigger and committed to coach Ray Giacoletti and the Bulldogs on Friday afternoon.

Bibbs, among the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s top 20 prospects in Illinois in the Class of 2017, received a call from Giacoletti following the Kirk commitment. The head coach let him know that nothing had changed in Drake’s recruitment of Bibbs.

“Coach Giacoletti wanted to make sure I wasn’t freaking out about them taking another guard,” Bibbs said of the Kirk commitment. “He shared his vision pretty clearly of how we would work and play together.”

The idea became more attractive to Bibbs after he reached out to Kirk this week. The two star guards began to envision themselves teaming up with one another in the Missouri Valley Conference.

“I wanted to see how he felt about playing together in the same backcourt, so I did reach out to him,” said Bibbs of touching base with Kirk. “He was all for it. When I started to think about it, the idea became more intriguing to me, knowing who my backcourt partner would be. We are both on board.”

Following a May visit to Drake, Giacoletti and his staff made Bibbs a priority. And since that time Bibbs has developed a close relationship with Giacoletti and his staff.

“I just really like the coaching staff and feel comfortable with the entire staff,” says Bibbs, who had multiple mid-major offers. “I felt that it was the right fit, and I’m really excited that it will be my new home for four years after high school.”

Drake is getting a guard with tools and upside who averaged 16.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game as a junior. A solid athlete with a deceptive first step, Bibbs has the ability to turn the corner and get to the basket while showing an improving perimeter jumper that must gain more consistency.