John Calipari has made his decision, and will be smiling all the way to the bank. The ex-Memphis coach signed a 8 year/just under $32 Mil. deal to be the new coach of the Wildcats. I think this will be a great fit for Calipari. He has had much success wherever he's coached in the NCAA (but had a dismal tenure while coaching the New Jersey Nets in the mid 1990's). He had success at Umass. From there, he jumped briefly to the NBA, and then built up a phenomenal team at Memphis, and made the Final Four last season, gaining top recruits along the way (you MAY have heard of this guy or this one). But speaking of recruits, lets talk about what kind of mess this now makes for Memphis. Calipari dynamic recruiting helped him land some of the top prospects for next season, including three players on the ESPN Top 100 list (Xavier Henry, DeMarcus Cousins, and Nolan Dennis). Henry (signed) and Cousins (verbal) have a big predicament to wrap their heads around now. Henry's brother, CJ, is currently at Memphis, which was a big factor in Xavier's decision to play for the Tigers. But Cousins, still not signed, might not be as loyal. He wants to play for Calipari. Right now, he has a lot to think about. Many at Memphis don't see these recruits staying, which could be interesting for Kentucky. Good luck Coach Cal--Lexington is a tough place to coach. After the Gillispie era, those fans are eager to break out those dancing shoes.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Calipari Chooses UK over staying put at Memphis
John Calipari has made his decision, and will be smiling all the way to the bank. The ex-Memphis coach signed a 8 year/just under $32 Mil. deal to be the new coach of the Wildcats. I think this will be a great fit for Calipari. He has had much success wherever he's coached in the NCAA (but had a dismal tenure while coaching the New Jersey Nets in the mid 1990's). He had success at Umass. From there, he jumped briefly to the NBA, and then built up a phenomenal team at Memphis, and made the Final Four last season, gaining top recruits along the way (you MAY have heard of this guy or this one). But speaking of recruits, lets talk about what kind of mess this now makes for Memphis. Calipari dynamic recruiting helped him land some of the top prospects for next season, including three players on the ESPN Top 100 list (Xavier Henry, DeMarcus Cousins, and Nolan Dennis). Henry (signed) and Cousins (verbal) have a big predicament to wrap their heads around now. Henry's brother, CJ, is currently at Memphis, which was a big factor in Xavier's decision to play for the Tigers. But Cousins, still not signed, might not be as loyal. He wants to play for Calipari. Right now, he has a lot to think about. Many at Memphis don't see these recruits staying, which could be interesting for Kentucky. Good luck Coach Cal--Lexington is a tough place to coach. After the Gillispie era, those fans are eager to break out those dancing shoes.
