Cal Gone: Take Me Away To UK

((HT: Memphis Commercial Appeal))

Press conferences start at 9:30 AM eastern time in Lexington for Calipari's introduction.

Dan Wolken starts the Memphis side of the Tigers post-mortem saying Calipari will receive an eight-year, $31.65 million deal plus incentives, according to the University of Kentucky. According to sources close to the process, however, Memphis had offered a deal that was just as lucrative.

Kentucky will pay Memphis a $200,000 buyout that was included in Calipari’s U of M contract.

Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson will hold a news conference at noon Wednesday to discuss plans for the future, as the program moves into its first coaching search since 2000. Donors Alan Graf and Mike Rose will play major roles in the search.

One name at the top of Memphis’ list was removed on Tuesday night when Mike Anderson agreed to a new seven-year contract to stay at Missouri.

The next coach on Memphis’ radar could be Southern California’s Tim Floyd, who has big-time recruiting connections, a track record of college success and NBA head coaching experience. Floyd, who reportedly makes $850,000 at USC, might also be intrigued by the opportunity to coach at a school where basketball is the top priority and doesn’t have to share the spotlight with USC football or UCLA basketball.

According to one of Floyd’s close friends in coaching, he would be interested in the job because of his strong roots in the South, despite his recent acclimation to the West Coast. Floyd owns a home just outside of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he was born. According to the coach, who requested to remain anonymous, the Memphis job would make a lot of sense for Floyd and he’d be as close to Calipari as Memphis could find in terms of his track record and ability to fit in with the program.

Other names that might come into play include Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy, Miami coach Frank Haith, UTEP coach Tony Barbee, current assistant Josh Pastner or former New Mexico State and Sacramento Kings coach Reggie Theus.

ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla said Memphis can stay relevant if it makes the right hire.

“There’s no question. It will be slightly different,” Fraschilla said. “What John did is going to be tough to duplicate, and I’m not sure most coaches would want to try to step in his shoes, but two guys that could get it done are Tim Floyd and Mike Anderson. They both have the experience and the recruiting ties and the substance to be able to weather what is a tough place to please a great fan base.”

Here's Coach Cal's Landing in Lexington...
((HT: WKYT))


And the flip side from our friends at WHBQ-TV/Fox Memphis...