Mike Caffey was only seven years old when those around him started to realize he was going to be a point guard.
His obsession with basketball already had started. It started way back when he used to climb the bleachers in diapers while watching his older brother play. The obsession continued as he grew into a young child, constantly bouncing a basketball all around the house, one time even falling asleep with it in his clutch.
But it was a play that his mother, Kim, watched him make when he was one of the youngest and smallest kids on the court that convinced everyone that he was destined to dish the ball.
"He saw that a hole would open up," Kim Caffey said. "He saw a hole. He knew where the player would be and he distributed the ball. It was a beautiful play."
Similar themes have followed the Long Beach State point guard throughout his career. Sometimes the youngest player, sometimes the smallest player, almost always the most soft-spoken, and he's still making those beautiful plays.
But now, in his senior season, there's a new theme that's emerged: Leadership.
The Big West's second-leading scorer and the three-year captain of a perennially strong mid-major program had to find his voice before he could find his leadership capabilities and blossom into the true point guard everyone knew he would become when he was only seven.
"I wasn't as vocal as I could have been," he said. "I had played in the big games, but I wasn't the captain in the big games. But I kind of got used to it. I'm getting better at it, but I'm still learning."
By nature, Caffey is exceptionally shy. Quiet and contemplative, he's observant like his dad. Both him and Kim will tell you that it's a trait he got from his dad, Mitchell Caffey Sr. A point guard is vocal, directing the offensive like a general on the court. And a captain is inherently vocal as well. So when Caffey was handed the reigns to both the offense and the locker room as a sophomore, there were some expected struggles.
"I felt like it was kind of tough my first year as being a leader in those big games," Caffey said. "I don't think it was really in me. I would have a play or two where I would just really yell at somebody, but it's just not my personality. I'm more of a quiet guy. But I'm learning to be more vocal."
As a kid, Caffey just wanted to play. But coaches have praised him for years, Kim said. They would call her up and rave about how coachable he was, how dedicated he was and his desire to win.
"I thought they would call and talk about the game," she said. "But they would rave about his character."
That desire developed on a backyard court in Riverside, where he would play with his older brother, Mitchell Jr. Mitchell and his friends treated Mike the way that they treated their friends, never backing down because he was younger or smaller and never letting him take an easy shot.
"His brother's friends would be hoopin' in the back and he would be out there, sometimes in the way, and he would fall down and hurt himself and cry," Kim said. "They weren't easy on him, they bumped him around. He was smaller, but Mitchell was like, 'Get in here, or get out.'"
It's the same treatment that Caffey got as a freshman at Long Beach with upperclassmen Casper Ware, Larry Anderson, T.J. Robinson and James Ennis. Together, they engineered one of the greatest seasons in program history, coming just short of the first NCAA Tournament win since 1973. Caffey was the point guard in waiting, knowing he would have to take over for Ware, and Ware did his best to make sure he was ready.
"Him and Larry brought me under their wings and helped me out a lot," Caffey said. "Just leadership, how to help the team out. On and off the court, they would tell me to come work out. On the court, they would tell everybody what to do. They were vocal leaders."
But as a trying to find his voice without the aid of Ware, Anderson or Robinson was difficult. With them gone and a slew of new transfers in their place, the 2012-2013 season was a turbulent season. Personalities clashed, the ball was hogged and The Beach was blown out in the NIT. The season culminated with the release of five players. Monson sent a message: Play with character or don't play at all.
Caffey remained on the team and remained a captain. The following season, he saw himself make great strides as a point guard. Drawing on his past experiences and his close relationship with Ware, his confidence grew and so did the team's.
"I feel like I could have been better as a point guard, trusting my teammates and getting guys shots," Caffey said. "That comes from learning, learning from Cas and things like that. He wasn't just a scorer, he would help everybody get the right shots. I was kind of more of a lead-by-example type. I don't want to say I was selfish, but I didn't trust my teammates as much as I do now."
The trust is instilled and the confidence is growing each week. Caffey knows that this season could be special, and he's ready to lead the team all the way into March.
"It was Casper's team," Caffey says, still with reverence in his voice. "Maybe we can be the team to get farther this year and be looked at that way."
