John Calipari is officially off to the bluegrass state where he will take over as head coach of  Kentucky’s basketball team. Calipari accepted an 8 year, $31.65 million offer, making him the highest paid coach in college basketball. Was it the right move for him though? For Kentucky? And what about Memphis?

Calipari was at Memphis for 9 years and had a remarkably successful run there. His Memphis team lost in the National Championship last year and have won a remarkable 137 games over the past four seasons. Memphis has dominated their conference like John Calipari is officially off to the bluegrass state where he will take over as head coach of  Kentucky’s basketball team. Calipari accepted an 8 year, $31.65 million offer, making him the highest paid coach in college basketball. Was it the right move for him though? For Kentucky? And what about Memphis.

That all sounds well and good,  but Calipari is leaving behind the chance to create a new Kentucky. Memphis has quickly become a perennial championship contender, a team to be feared. With10 more years of this success, Memphis will have created a basketball program with the prestige necessary to gain status as one of the historic programs in the country. Of course, 20 years of success doesn’t equal the lifetimes of success for teams like Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, or Indiana, but its a start. Maybe 10 more years of success after that and a few national championships under his belt, Calipari would be considered the founder of one of the greatest college basketball programs of all-time. Maybe his name would be mentioned with the likes of Bobby Knight and John Wooden. He would leave behind a legacy at Memphis that no one could top. Continue reading “Calipari Off To Kentucky” →