BOZEMAN UNDERSTANDS BIBBY'S PREDICAMENT.

Byline: Gary Washburn Daily News Staff Writer

Henry Bibby's shoes, but he sure has tried them on.

The scene on Wednesday when Bibby replaced Charlie Parker, who led the Trojans to an 11-10 record, sounds familiar in Berkeley. A coach is fired in mid-season with a winning record by a fairly new athletic director, an assistant takes over and the criticism and questions begin immediately.

Bozeman knows. He took over when Lou Campanelli was fired in February of 1992.

"I feel for Henry Bibby, but I also feel for Charlie Parker," Bozeman said after Cal's 85-69 win over USC. "I think the whole situation is unfortunate."

Many asked why Campanelli was fired with a 10-7 record, others asked how Bozeman could take the job after seeing his boss removed. Bozeman was heavily criticized for replacing Campanelli. Despite leading the 1992-93 team to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, Bozeman received letters and phone calls from fans and fellow coaches accusing him of being disloyal to Campanelli and disregarding his coaching brethren.

He notices that Bibby isn't enduring the same kind of criticism, nor is the story garnering the same kind of coverage.

"It's strange you don't see the same amount of attention and scrutiny because it's a black (replacing a) black situation," Bozeman said. "The same amount of attention isn't drawn to it. This seems kind of (strange).

"Because mine was a black (replacing a) white situation, it was different. That's kind of indicative of society and how things go."