John Calipari went to bed on Monday as the head coach of the Memphis Tigers, still pondering an offer from the University of Kentucky to take over its vacant coaching position after Billy Gillispie was fired late last week.
According to reports on Monday, Calipari met with a group of influential Memphis boosters, including William B. Dunavant and John Stokes.
Calipari met with his assistant coaches at his home on Monday evening, with no word as of 10 p.m. about whether he had reached a decision.
Based upon a report by Dan Wolken of The Commercial Appeal, Memphis boosters continued their full-court press to convince Calipari to stay in discussions that were described as “intense,” signaling that perhaps Calipari wasn’t quite as ready to jump to Kentucky as initially thought.
Earlier Monday, ESPN’s Andy Katz reported Kentucky had offered Calipari an eight-year contract worth $35 million. Katz characterized the negotiations as on-going and both sides were moving closer to finalizing a deal.
The financial aspects aside, Calipari’s decision could have potentially devastating effects on the Memphis program. With the nation’s top recruiting class already committed to Memphis, Calipari’s departure could mean some, if not all of the highly-touted recruits could follow him to Kentucky.
However, Kentucky only has one scholarship available at the moment. With 17 players on the UK roster, the school may be forced to take scholarships away from current players to make room for potential recruits following Calipari.
Calipari is expected to announce his decision on Tuesday.
