It's rumored Calipari to the UK brass Sunday. Calipari is considered the homerun hire for the Wildcats.
The rumors are swirling. The photoshopping connoisseurs have put together this terrific photo.
Larry Vaught is the reporter who seems to have the only quasi-answers right now, and he addresses the possibilities of Cal to UK here, but you need a membership to Scout.com to read it. Vaught also went on Kentucky Sports Radio and declared a meeting with Calipari and Kentucky has or will be happening soon.
Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio also ran with this earlier today:
I just spoke with someone who is likely one of the two closest sources I have in this process. He tells me two things. First, Calipari has strongly expressed interest to the Kentucky folks and that he wants to meet with the UK brass. In addition, he told me that many at UK are warming to the thought of Calipari and that part of the reason has to do with the comments down the road. There is a feeling from some that Pitino had a role in Donovan’s initial decision to turn down the job a few days ago and that there is a sentiment that getting Calipari would mean getting a Coach who is “committed to owning this state.”
The individual told me that if he were a betting man, the list right now looks like this:
1. Calipari
2. Izzo
3. Barnes/Matta/Miller
Izzo seems less likely now because he A) has gotten to yet another Final Four with Michigan State, further proving he can do it no matter the climate of college basketball; B) will Kentucky wait more than a week to get a hire?
There are five Facebook groups dedicated to relocating the slick coach from Memphis to Lexington. This is the biggest one.
Digging deeper, you see the following notables in the group:
—Demarcus Cousins
—Patrick Patterson
—Jodie Meeks
—Dominique Ferguson
—Xavier Henry
—Daniel Orton
—John Wall
All of those are players or potential recruits. Even Calipari’s daughters, supposedly, have joined as well.K
Oh, of course: there is a Web site.
For what it’s worth, the local Memphis media is trying to spin this the other way around as hard as it can.
There are sources at a television news station in Illinois that I know are continuing to pursue this story, including calling the host of John Calipari’s television show to try and dig for any info.
Expect this news to continue to boil through tonight and into tomorrow. It’s entirely possible Calipari could leave and join UK within 24 hours. At this point, it’s more than a guessing game and more than speculation; too many people are talking, and it’s nearing the point where hopes are high enough that if UK does not get Cal, almost anyone else would be a letdown.
