Memphis Tigers Basketball

Lewis and Clark, Bonnie and Clyde, Brad and Angelina, and now John Calipari and Kentucky.

It seems as though every major sportswriter in the country can't get enough of this newfound relationship, and rightly so. All indications are pointing to Coach Cal being a huge success at the University of Kentucky just like he was at UMass and most recently Memphis.

However, the one major thing that keeps getting lost in all of this hoopla (no pun intended) is the Memphis Tiger basketball program. The departure of Coach Calipari could have massive negative implications for the future of the Tiger program.

The coach who won 137 games in the past four years, an NCAA record, has just jumped ship, and the staff that recruited the players that won all of those games are likely going with him.

The Tigers will graduate two seniors this year and possibly lose two others to the NBA Draft in June. There have been talks about up to three players transferring to other schools.

And, oh yeah, what about the highly touted, No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the country that was supposed to win a national championship for Memphis next year? Well, it seems as though one by one, they are all looking elsewhere as well.

This leaves the Memphis Tigers with a total of four players for the 2009-2010 season: Pierre Henderson-Niles, Preston Laird, Willie Kemp, and Doneal Mack. Last I checked, you needed at least five players to field a team.

This could mean trouble for the program that has been to four straight NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteens, and there seems to be no quick fix for the Tigers either.

Although the Memphis job has become more attractive over the past few years, many of the top coaches in the country won't likely leave their jobs in the “power” conferences to come coach in Conference USA, especially if there is so much turmoil surrounding the team.

The Tigers can only hope that Tim Floyd from USC, Sean Miller from Xavier, or Mark Few from Gonzaga will be able to look past all of that and realize that Memphis is truly one of the best jobs in the country.

Now, the one thing that the Tigers do have going for them is money, and lots of it. The Memphis boosters are some of the best in the country, and they were willing to give Coach Cal anything he wanted, but it just wasn't in the cards. This will play very favorably however when the Tigers look to hire a new coach.

If all of this comes to fruition, then it could potentially be a devastating blow to the Memphis Tigers basketball program, but if history has anything to do with it then the Tigers will be back, and it'll be sooner rather than later.

Ten observations of Kentucky’s hiring of John Calipari:

1)  Anyone who thinks that Calipari won’t win—and win big in the SEC is crazy. Fans of 11 schools will point to the fact that Coach Cal has never had to survive in a real conference before, but one look at his non-conference record proves that the guy can coach and recruit. Even if his overall winning percentage has been a little inflated by the dregs of Conference USA, he’s still more than held his own against top non-conference competition.

2)  Anyone expecting Calipari to win like he did at Memphis is expecting too much.  Teams don’t often go 16-0 in the SEC, much less for three straight years. While I think UK will get back to “team to beat” status, I think Calipari will have to earn No. 1 and  No. 2 seeds. At Memphis they were handed to him.

3)  This hire puts Kentucky right back at the top of the SEC. Forget Florida. Tennessee hasn’t taken the next step up. And everyone else is ever farther down the food chain.  UK is once again King of the Realm.

4)  That’s a good thing for the SEC in general. Every league needs a standard-bearer.  From a national perspective, Kentucky is THE basketball school in the SEC. If UK is down—as they were this year—the national media picks up on it and it hurts the overall prestige of the conference. The league’s other teams don’t get quite as much credit for good seasons if they happen to have them while Kentucky is down.

5)  ESPN has to be jumping for joy today. They grabbed the SEC basketball package just in time for the Kentucky-Calipari marriage.

6)  As if Calipari wouldn’t recruit well enough with Worldwide Wes and the name “Kentucky” to sell, now he’ll be beamed into every high schooler’s home on ESPN each week.

7)  SEC fans, get ready for it… ESPN is about to become to Kentucky basketball what NBC is to Notre Dame football. UK is the premiere program. UK is the top selling point.  UK will get the majority of basketball exposure. And the fan bases of the other 11 schools will hate every second of it.

8)  I don’t like the fact that Calipari had Letters of Intent with escape clauses for his Memphis signees. And I don’t think it’s fair that most coaches are keelhauled for luring prospects from their old school to their new school while everyone seems to be panting over the possibility of Coach Cal doing it for Kentucky. I’m no Memphis fan, but doesn’t anyone feel like they’re getting wrongly screwed by a guy that supposedly loved them just 24 hours ago?  I’m hoping Calipari doesn’t raid the UM cupboard, but you can bet he will.

9)  I think the national view on this move—like it or not, UK fans—will be that Kentucky will win at all costs. UK will fire a coach after two years. UK will hire a coach with a questionable reputation. UK will race to get a winner in place quickly, despite past shortcomings when it came to background checks. And UK will break new ground in spending to do it. The ends justify the means. That’s the national view of Kentucky.  Sorry.

10)  Even though I believe that that perception is a bit exaggerated, I do have two issues with UK on these recent events. If UK had said, “Gillispie didn’t win enough,” I could deal with them hiring a guy like Calipari. But they tried to paint the decision as simply a matter of “fit.”  “He couldn’t build relationships.” 

Well, I don’t know if anyone in Lexington has read Calipari’s dossier, but he’s had his own history of bad relationships. Also, while I have no problem with schools spending money on coaches, UK president Lee Todd has been very vocal about how academics and athletics are connected at Kentucky. Except in this case, apparently. So I take issue with some of the BS the UK folks are shoveling.

That said, go back to Point One. 

Calipari is going to win big at Kentucky. And for the fans, that’s all that matters.

On Wednesday the University of Kentucky introduced its new head men's basketball coach John Calipari to an excited fanbase that has longed for a return to the Final Four for the first time since the 1998 championship.  But what fans didn't expect is for Calipari to take on qualities of a mythical figure.

Literally.

Following a series of questions that expressed concern over Calipari's association with Memphis banker William Wesley Calipari asked the crowd of reporters and fans for some quiet.  He then closed his eyes, pressed on his temples, and spoke.

"There is a man in this audience who has been suffering for many years.  I sense a deep pain within his soul.  Sir, would you mind coming forward?"

At that moment the man, identified as Chas McFeeley, 46, of Gravel Switch, slowly moved forward.

"Yes, Coach, I've been suffering from the heartbreak of extreme laziness and dandruff for over 10 years now," McFeeley said.

"Let this man's suffering be over!" Calipari shouted as he pushed on McFeeley's forehead and pushed him back into the waiting arms of a couple of reporters. 

Within minutes, McFeeley's scalp was clean and he had enough energy to forgo couch-sitting.

"I may even go apply for a job, or at least get off my kiester to take out the garbage!" McFeeley said.

As the crowd applauded Calipari humbly smiled then said he had an additional announcement.

"The university has been extremely generous with its contract.  But truthfully, there are others who need this more.  Therefore, I ask that my $31.5 million be equally distributed amongst all citizens of the commonwealth," Calipari said as applause thundered throughout the Joe Craft Center.

With an estimated population of 4.4 million, each citizen of Kentucky should receive about seven dollars and 16 cents.

"Sweet, I can afford two Happy Meals now.  Or at least a 12-pack of Milwaukee's Best," said UK student Biff Manley.

Lastly, Calipari spoke about the Wildcats' upcoming season.

"We have a lot of potential on this team, especially with the great recruiting class we have coming in of every player listed in the top 10.  I think we should finish near the top of the SEC and make it back to the round of 16 of the NCAAs."

A collective groan was heard from the audience.

"Why did we hire this clown?  So he can heal the sick and stimulate the economy.  Big deal!  Championships or nothing!" said Billy Bob Rubeck.

The other shoe dropped for Memphis and Kentucky basketball fans this afternoon as John Calipari chose to trade in his blue and gray for blue and white.

The move was contemplated for days by Calipari and the rest of the sports world as the pros and cons were weighed. Questions abound on the other side of the decision though one of the biggest has to be, what now for Conference USA?

For the last four seasons Memphis has been the undisputed champions of C-USA. The Tigers won both the regular season and tournament championships in the new alignment of the league.

Calipari also brought the Tigers back to prominence with six appearances in the NCAA Tournament. This times taking Memphis to the Elite Eight, and one time playing for the National Championship.

Again the question is now what? The era of Memphis dominance appears to be in question as recruits could follow Calipari to Lexington.

The league parity has been there in Conference USA when Memphis is acknowledged to be an anomaly in the league. Perhaps now if the Tigers are not able to recover from Calipari flying the coop then the league could truly show it's balance.

This season Tulsa, UAB, Houston,and UTEP all finished within two games reach of each other just behind Memphis. Going back another four games brings Marshall, UCF, and Tulane into the fold.

With a less dominant performance next season by Memphis could bring the entire league even closer together.

The four teams finishing closest to the Tigers in the final league standings have already proven themselves to be competent programs. The Golden Hurricanes and the Blazers each were invited to the NIT this season. The Cougars and the Miners each saw post-season action at the second CBI tournament. 

The Blazers have been considered the second team in C-USA for the past few seasons and if not for having to release players mid-season could have found themselves in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. 

As for Marshall, Tulane, and UCF, each of these programs have been on the rise as of late. Since the arrival of the Herd and the Knights from the Mid-American Conference, both programs have made considerable steps forward and are on the cusp of being in the fold for the post-season.

Also, the arrival of Dave Dickerson at Tulane has turned the program into one of the strongest defensive clubs in C-USA.

So will Memphis be able to maintain dominance, or will someone else step up to claim the top? Only time will tell, yet the talent level is high across the league and it should be interesting to see where things lie after the 2009-'10 season.

The University of Memphis has lost 810 basketball games in the school’s history, dating to the 1920-'21 season when the program began.

In 1973, Memphis lost to UCLA, 87-66, in the National Championship game, falling victim to the single most amazing individual performance in title game history, when Bill Walton famously went off for 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting.

A year ago, Memphis lost to Kansas, 75-68 in overtime, to fall short of a national title, yet again.

There were several Elite 8 and Sweet 16 losses in between, and Missouri just ended Memphis’ 2008-’09 season.

Ladies and gentlemen, never has the Memphis Tiger basketball program suffered a loss like this one.

Never. Ever. Not even close.

John Calipari’s leaving the University of Memphis to become the head coach of the iconic Kentucky Wildcats will simply devastate the Tiger’s program.

Oh, sure, right now only Calipari is leaving. That, we could deal with. In and of itself, the loss is not the end of the world. 

However, even if Memphis lands a top-notch replacement—the name Mike Anderson keeps buzzing around, even though there is no evidence that Memphis has actually begun the process of contacting him—the die has been cast.

When Calipari leaves, expect him to take most, if not all, of his top-notch coaching staff with him. John Robic, Orlando Antigua, and Josh Pastner would all tell Memphis “Vaya con dios.”

Rod Strickland would probably tag along, too.

About the only staff member Memphis would have a good shot at retaining is Richard Hogans, Director of Performance Enhancement. He actually graduated from Memphis in 1999, played a little pro football until injuries ended his career, and came back to the school to work with Calipari’s staff in 2004. 

Now, let’s further examine how this hiring guts the Memphis program.

Memphis famously gives basketball recruits the equivalent of an “escape clause," promising to grant them a release if John Calipari leaves to coach elsewhere. 

R. C. Johnson, Memphis Athletic Director, has confirmed that all receive that addendum to the National Letter of Intent, promising them the option to leave should the head coach not be at the school for any reason.

Nolan Dennis of Texas has already said that he would seriously consider exercising that option.

That means that Dennis, Will Coleman, Darnell Dodson, and Xavier Henry could all be free to follow Coach Calipari to Kentucky, or to re-open their recruitment over the summer.

Coleman and Dodson did not even have Memphis on their radar until Calipari hired Orlando Antigua. Assuming that Antigua heads north with Coach Cal, what would that mean, relative to Coleman and Dodson?

Memphis would have next to no chance of retaining their services, that’s what it means.

The devastation isn’t finished yet, not by a long shot.

DeMarcus Cousins from Alabama will never see the Memphis campus. He has not yet signed an NLI, as NCAA rules prohibit his signing one until April 15. So his verbal commitment means next-to-nothing.

He, too, would either follow Calipari to UK or else re-open his recruitment yet again. North Carolina State, Rice, and Washington were on his short list when he announced for Memphis.

Don’t think we’re finished yet—the bad news piles on.

Wesley Witherspoon, an insanely talented freshman from Georgia, was asked on-camera on Monday if he had come to Memphis to play for Coach Calipari.

“Well yeah, basically,” was the reply.

Would he be willing to sit out a season in order to play for Cal at Kentucky?

Don’t make me answer that one. I think you know as well as I do that he would.

Roburt Sallie, who recently completed his sophomore campaign with Memphis, has been rumored to want to follow Calipari, as well. That one makes little sense, as he has already lost three years due to his bizarre travails (see this article for more details). Maybe we can keep him in Memphis.

That brings us, finally, to the Henrys, C. J. and Xavier.

C. J. Henry plays baseball for the New York Yankees. His contract with the Yankees obligates the team to pay for his schooling. This year, he cashed in on that provision.

He was injured and did not play, but he remains a part of the Memphis team. Tiger fans were looking forward to him suiting up next fall.

C. J.’s presence on the team, in turn, attracted his younger brother Xavier to Memphis. Henry, the younger, wanted one last chance to play with his older brother before heading off into the sunset of the NBA.

With John Calipari gone, what are the odds that the Henrys stay with a gutted Memphis program?

Slim-and-none.

I would speculate that they would head off to Kansas, as C. J. was expected to head to Kansas, anyway (both his mother & father are alumni) before he shocked everyone (including his parents) by coming to Memphis.

Kansas was a finalist for his younger brother, Xavier. Xavier, in Miami for the McDonald's All-American game, is said to have already begun the process of re-opening his recruitment.

Shawn Taggart, a fourth-year junior post player who transferred from Iowa State, is set to graduate in May. Calipari advised him months ago to test the waters of the NBA draft. Taggart stated in an interview on Monday, "I'll see y'all next year, man."

However, what if he impresses NBA GMs and is told he will be a first round pick?

He'd be a fool to return under those circumstances. So we should count him as a "maybe".

Realistically, there are only three players that could be considered locks to return to Memphis: Pierre Henderson-Niles, Willie Kemp, and Doneal Mack, who will all be seniors.

Sallie, who would be a junior, is a fairly decent bet, as I suspect that he does not want to lose yet another year sitting out.

Freshman Angel Garcia, who was ruled ineligible but enrolled at Memphis anyway, appears well on the way to qualifying to play next fall. He has said that he expects to play at Memphis.

That’s it, folks. Five players, only one of whom (Mack) was a full-time starter for the Tigers last year.

A sixth (Taggart) is a "maybe". At least he, too, was a starter.

On top of it all, Memphis is still in Conference USA. 

The Tigers are still signed to face Cincinnati, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, Syracuse, and Tennessee next season.

Now, none of this is said in an attempt to engender sympathy. Memphis will move on and attempt to pick up the pieces, just like anyone else would.

However, I have seen far too many people soft-selling the effect that losing Calipari will have on the Memphis program, at least in the short term.

It will be difficult to get a marquee coach in here, and very difficult to find enough talent to fill out the roster.

Once some of these game contracts run out, Memphis will no longer be able to sign games with the premier basketball programs, either.

C-USA is unanimously a wasteland now. At least Big Brother Memphis won’t be pounding them into submission any longer.

In short, do not underestimate the magnitude of the loss of Coach Calipari to the University of Memphis. 

The cupboard is not only bare; it is decrepit, rotting, and moth ridden.

It could literally take years for the program to recover. Barring some future miracle, it will most likely never again be close to what is has been in the past four years.

Former Memphis coach John Calipari has agreed to become the next coach at Kentucky. A news conference is scheduled for tomorrow to introduce the team's new coach.

The signing was first reported by ESPN's Andy Katz who received this text from Calipari;

" I am accepting the UK job! Go Big Blue, coach Cal."

He will become the highest-paid coach in the country with a deal reported in the $35-40 million range over eight years.

The news continues to get worse for Memphis fans as people close to the team say that they will lose star recruits Xavier Henry and DeMarcus Cousins.

According to ESPN both players were interviewed at the McDonald's All-American game today and said they would re-open their recruiting and sign elsewhere.

Cousins has yet to sign a letter of intent and Henry, according to CBSSports.com, has an opt-out clause allowing him to sign with another team without penalty if he chooses.

It would definitely seem that both players committed to play at Memphis because of Calipari, and will probably end up in Kentucky blue when it's all said and done.

Sources have told CBSSports.com that Tyreke Evans will enter the NBA Draft and Wesley Witherspoon will likely transfer to Kentucky.

Shawn Taggart won't return to Memphis because he has already graduated.

Combine that with the fact that Robert Dozier and Antonio Anderson have exhausted their eligibility, and it's possible the next Tigers coach could inherit a roster featuring only Doneal Mack (8.7 points per game), Roburt Sallie (5.8 ppg), Willie Kemp (2.9 ppg) and Pierre Henderson-Niles (2.4 ppg), meaning Memphis could go from dominating Conference USA to missing the NCAA tournament in a matter of 12 months.(CBSSports.com)

We sit here just before the Final Four, and the offseason drama has already begun. It has been confirmed by ESPN that John Calipari has accepted the head coaching position at Kentucky.

And with Cal leaving the Memphis Tigers, it looks like some of his recruits will look elsewhere.

Xavier Henry, who was previously committed to Memphis, just gave an interview in which he pretty much said that if Calipari leaves, he will choose a new school.

Looks like someone's back on the recruiting block.

The school that Henry will most likely be going to, as of now, is Kansas. He originally had his choices narrowed down to Memphis and Kansas and chose the Tigers due to family ties.

Should Xavier, the No. 3 national prospect according to Rivals, now opt for the Jayhawks, Kansas coach Bill Self will welcome Henry with open arms. And who knows, maybe his brother C.J. will come as well.

Other top recruit that may change his mind now is DeMarcus Cousins. A 6'9" forward ranked No. 2 nationally by Rivals, Cousins (like Henry) originally signed with Memphis specifically to play for Coach Cal.

But with the man he wanted as his mentor leaving, Favors will most likely be looking at other schools. Two interested at this point are North Carolina State and Kansas State.

The list of Memphis' potential coaching replacements looks to be short: Right now, only Mike Anderson of Missouri is on it. After taking his Tigers to the Elite Eight, he is a hot commodity.

There have been reports that Anderson could be getting up to $3 million per year at Memphis. I don't know many people that would pass on that offer.

Coaching changes that have already conspired this week have been very entertaining, and I cannot wait to see what happens through the rest of the spring and summer.

If the tie is any indication, Memphis head basketball coach John Calipari likes to wear the color blue.

Could this be foreshadowing? I hope not.

One of my earliest NCAA memories is John Calipari's 1995-96 UMass basketball team, a team he guided all the way to the Final Four as a chipper 37-year-old. During Calipari's eight years in the Atlantic 10 Conference, UMass amassed a 193-71 record, including 91-41 in conference.

Aside from this dream 35-2 season, Calipari was instrumental in leading his team to the NCAA Tournament four other times, where he won at least one game in all four years.

In addition to this, his success included a trip to the Sweet 16 in his first postseason appearance, followed by an eventual Elite Eight and Final Four appearance.

You can tell by his resume, just like in life, that Calipari worked his way up the chain the same way his teams always rose to the occasion; he got the best out of them.

Calipari propelled this miracle 1995-96 season as a No. 2 seed to take a job in the NBA with the perpetually woeful New Jersey Nets, where he didn't fare nearly as well.

After a season that debuted with a stunning 92-82 victory over No. 1 Kentucky, no one knew what was in store for his team, fresh off an Elite Eight appearance the year before.

In what would conclude as a dream season, led by National Player of the Year and eventual No. 2 overall draft pick Marcus Camby—the only player on the squad to make it in the NBA—no other player averaged so much as 10.5 points per game. It was simply superior coaching.

The dream season ended with a Final Four loss to Rick Pitino's Kentucky Wildcats, 81-74.

It could be a cruel twist of fate 13 years later should Calipari join long-time rival Pitino in the Bluegrass State.

National pundits seem excited by the idea of this yearly intrastate rivalry and all its prospects. As an observer of a rival school that would have to witness Calipari turning Big Blue into a national powerhouse again—during all eight years, at the least, of his tenure—I am hoping that doesn't happen.

The thing that makes Calipari so interesting is not the fact that he can simply dominate a weaker conference in Conference USA. It's the fact that he turns little known schools from mediocre conferences into national powerhouses.

Should he go to Kentucky, he'll be just another Wildcat, and just another Wildcat coach forever in the shadows of Adoph Rupp and Pitino—two people he'll always be compared to, but will never outdo, simply because they did it first.

He supposedly stated that going to Kentucky is a once-in-a-lifetime job, like coaching football at Notre Dame, and that it would be hard, if not impossible, to turn down.

If you watched ESPN's First Take this afternoon you heard that, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis boosters met with Calipari and supposedly offered to match "whatever Kentucky offered."

Skip Bayless and Jemele Hill went on to debate Calipari's future, but each agreed that the longer this drags out, the better it looks for Memphis to retain him.

So with money being on equal footing, and rumors of the use of a "private jet" and "generous retirement package," it is a matter of loyalty vs. legacy, and the choice is up to Calipari.

I know what I would do, and that is finish what I started in Memphis where I could dominate and get an easier path into the NCAA where anything is possible once you get in.

My biggest fear is that Calipari's 2009 recruits, which again are tops in the nation, most notaby national No. 1 Xavier (pronounced Zav-e-a) Henry, could follow Calipari to UK, where any teaming with Jodie Meeks and/or Patrick Patterson would be unbelievable...not to mention unstoppable. They are ranked 1-3 on rivals.com.

Throw in the fact that Memphis also covets the nation's No. 1 point guard in John Wall and forward DeMarcus Cousins, and you've got a trio of young, balanced scoring. (Think Fab Five II, but on a smaller scale).

Just think, what if the Fab Five was never able to exist? Not only would Michigan be void of two exciting Tournament runs, but the legend and legacy of this trendsetting class would be gone too, not to mention the baggy shorts which came into style along with their playground attitude.

Think of their potential roster:

C DeMarcus Cousins

PF Perry Stevenson

SF Patrick Patterson

SG Jodie Meeks

PG John Hall

Sixth man Xavier Henry?

What do we call it if they go—six deep???

And it could have been, should have been, for Memphis.

Sure, they wouldn't have Patterson, Meeks, or Stevenson, but I'm fairly certain that Calipari could have more than adequately filled in the so-called "missing pieces," and the team wouldn't have lost a step.

That is the situation we as college basketball fans would be robbed of seeing should "Coach Cal," as ESPN has dubbed him, accept a job under the nation's microscope, complete with their unrealistic fanbase.

Memphis was becoming quite the trendsetter as the nation's premier one-and-done school of student-athletes—or as Bayless puts it, "Athlete-students." By the time the season ends and their grades come in, they'd already be working out, talking with agents, and preparing for the draft.

It is simply a shame that UK can—and did—throw tons of money at Calipari, gloating all the while by saying, "Hey we are UK. You know he's gonna take it!"

This brash attitude has been evident from the beginning. From the talk radio prognosticators to the anticipating articles that have already been written, you can just tell they know they got their man...and they aren't afraid to brag about it.

Talk about spoiled rotten. For shame. Two little seasons of misfortune, including one absence from the NCAA Tournament, and all of a sudden they claim, "Never again are we to suffer such an embarrassment!" as Calipari falls into their laps for the taking.

They should have to experience what the Ole Miss' of the conference feel like for just a little bit longer.

If I'm a Memphian, Memphis alum, student, faculty member, or general college basketball fan in general, I'm stunned and angry.

Quick: Who can name Calipari's predecessor?

If you can't answer "Tic Price," or simply choose not to, there is a good reason for that. Calipari brought Memphis basketball back from the likes of the Larry Finch era or Dana Kirk before that.

A removal of Calipari, and I fear a similar regression for the program, and their fans who deserve better, all this coming just 11 months after the school's first and only NCAA Finals appearance. What a whirlwind of emotional highs and lows.

Here's hoping Calipari has a change of heart, comes to his senses, and denies UK their mulligan, rather, their get-out-of-jail free card.

In keeping with the musical theme of this piece, another song comes to mind, this one by The Four Seasons.

It's title? "Stay."

John Calipari will end the suspense this afternoon, and will announce where he will coach next season.

The indisputable facts are simple:

He is the nine-year head coach at the University of Memphis.

He has an offer on the table from the University of Kentucky for eight years at $35 million.

And the administration at the U of M, with the help of the program's most prominent boosters, have promised to be able to match any offer dollar-for-dollar.

What is not known for certain is what Calipari will decide to do.

Reports have been rampant for nearly 24 hours that Calipari was set for Kentucky. If it is announced that he is, indeed, becoming the top Wildcat, it will seem to verify the idea that he made the decision some time in the past 48 hours.

There are those who are saying, however, that he still has not decided, that he is torn between the allure of a dream job and the joy he has felt in building up a once-ailing Memphis program.

Only Calipari himself knows if that is true.

The following, however, was reported by the Memphis Commercial Appeal after a reporter overheard a conversation between Calipari and some close friends:

"Nobody actually came out and asked Calipari if he was leaving, but he said he hadn't made up his mind. He was going to drive around Memphis today and decide this afternoon.

"If you're into reading tea leaves—or coffee grounds, if you prefer—Calipari did say two things that should have Memphis fans worried.

"'Things will be OK here,' he said.

"And also: 'Taking the job is the easy part of the decision. Leaving here is the hard part.'"

First and foremost, this is an opinion article, and is not meant to offend the great Memphis or Kentucky fans.

It is simply and outsiders point of view of the current Kentucky basketball situation and the possibility of Memphis coach John Calipari sitting on the sidelines of Rupp Arena for the next eight years.

This analysis is mostly qualitative, so if anybody has arguments with stats, please prove me wrong. Here are my thoughts:

1. Memphis Fans: Do not blame Calipari for going. You play in Conference USA

If you look at the greatest coaches of all-time, Dean Smith, Bobby Knight, John Wooden, etc, they all have one thing in common: they played in major conferences with legitimate competiion year in and year out.

I am sorry Memphis fans, but Conference USA is not the conference it used to be. Every year come tourney time, the biggest question is how to rank Memphis.

There is no doubt that they always belong as a high seed as evidenced by strong non-conference schedules, but if Calipari had the same team he had in Memphis this year at Kentucky, they would have probably been a favorite to win the tournament.

(Yes, their schedules would have changed, but the SEC was mundane this year and I don't think there is any question that Kentucky would have won it if they had Tyreke Evans, Robert Dozier, and Antonio Anderson).

Who knows, maybe next year we will see another team out of Conference USA in the NCAA tourney other than Memphis.

2. Kentucky Needs John Calipari

There is no doubt that Calipari is a cut above Billy Gillispie in terms of recruiting and coaching. Calipari attracted some of the best recruits in the country to Conference USA basketball, which is a feat in its own.

I don't think anybody argues that he can't coach either. Kentucky cannot give him a short leash though, like they gave Tubby Smith or Billy Gillespie. They need to give Calipari time to develop his program like he did in Memphis. If they give him only a few years, no coach is going to want to coach there.

3. Calipari Needs Kentucky

Like I said above, the greatest colleges coaches of all-time are mostly found in the major conferences, and if Calipari is successful in Kentucky for the next decade, his name will be mentioned along the likes of the greats.

If he stays in Memphis and continues to win, many people will debate the quality of those wins in Conference USA, and will judge him more on tourney wins, which he has none thus far.

In summary, I think that if John Calipari goes to Kentucky, he will be under a lot of pressure to produce right away. Kentucky fans need to relax and realize that despite having a decent team, they need to give their coach at least four years to establish his program.

The biggest problem with Kentucky basketball is not on the court, but the people who are running the administration.