Under immense pressure to bring in a big name, Kentucky officials prodded John Calipari to jump from Memphis to Lexington, giving him the biggest contract in college basketball in the process. Kentucky will pay Calipari more than $31 million in eight seasons, and the new coach will receive a $2.5 million signing bonus. ESPN.com’s Andy Katz received a text message from Calipari tonight to confirm that he planned to accept the offer to replace former coach Billy Gillispie. Katz learned that Calipari had an intense, emotional day in deciding whether to leave a program he has turned into a perennial winner.
“It was a wild and hectic day and I really and truly believe that John didn’t decide until right at the end, late this afternoon,” Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson told Katz Tuesday night. “We talked throughout the day. We’ve got a great thing going here. So I’m disappointed.”
Johnson said he and Calipari had an emotional meeting. Johnson said he asked Calipari how much money he wanted to stay at Memphis and his reply was, “You don’t have to give me anymore. It’s Kentucky.”
Johnson said that Calipari was wrestling with the idea that “we have a spectacular team coming in here next season.”
According to Johnson, Calipari told the team that the returning players need to stay at Memphis. Johnson said he would advice them to do the same, but he knows they will wait for the next head coach to be named. Players likely wouldn’t leave school until after the spring semester anyway, so they could be eligible.
The next intriguing story line will relate to Memphis’ recruits. The Tigers have one of the best incoming freshman classes in the country, led by Xavier Henry and DeMarcus Cousins. With Calipari leaving for Kentucky, Memphis’ recruits might seek a release from their commitments to the university to pursue other options. Given the caliber of their talent, their newfound availability could produce spontaneous full-court press recruiting efforts from the likes of Kansas and Duke. In addition, Calipari will likely push for his recruits join him with the Wildcats.
