Honoring UNC Asheville Men’s Basketball Great Mickey Gibson

Story by Mike Gore

The UNC Asheville Athletics Department is sad to report that former Bulldog great Mickey Gibson passed away at his home in Jackson, Kentucky, last month at the age of 81.

Mickey enjoyed a spectacular two-year basketball career for the Bulldogs from 1968-70. He was supposed to play for legendary coach Adolph Rupp at the University of Kentucky. However, Rupp threw Gibson off the team because he got married over the Christmas holidays.

Bulldog coach Bob Hartman heard about Gibson playing in an industrial league and convinced him to play for-then Asheville-Biltmore College. His signing paid immediate dividends for the Bulldogs as the school won its first-ever District 6 crown and advanced to the NAIA National Championships in Kansas City. Gibson earned All-District honors for his play. Mickey was Asheville's leading scorer with a 20.5 average. The Dogs won their first-ever NAIA tournament game with a win over Grambling before falling to Stephen F. Austin in the second round.

His senior year saw him averaging 23.3 points per game to set a school record that still stands today. He scored a school-record 44 points in a game vs. Pikeville. That record stood for more than 50 years before Drew Pember broke it during the 2022-23 season when he tallied 48 points in an overtime win over Presbyterian College.

Mickey finished his two-year career in Asheville with 1,179 points. He was the second Bulldog player to score more than 1,000 points in just two years.

"Mickey Gibson was one of the best shooters I ever saw," said former Kentucky teammate and TV announcer Larry Conley prior to a UNC Asheville-Kentucky game several years ago. "His range was unbelievable, and if the three-point line had been around back then there's no telling how many points he would have scored."

"Mickey was an incredible basketball player. I played against him and with him, and I can tell you he was a lot more fun to play with than trying to guard him," said former Bulldog player and assistant coach Kevin Cantwell. "Mickey's range as a shooter was as soon as you got off the bus and stepped into the gym."

Mickey was inducted into the UNC Asheville Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.