UK Sports Info

Today is truley one of the happiest days I have had as a UK fan.  I am so proud of the Administration for the decision they have made today to bring Calipari to UK.  I have listened to many people take shots at Barnhart that he does not care enough about basketball, and this day does show that he cares and he understands the importance of what it means to the people of Kentucky.

The pep rally that is to come will be one of the most exciting moments at UK and I know that the outpouring of support will be unbelievable.

Dick Vitale talked about this being a grandslam, and I don’t know that there is a better way to describe this hire.C

Coach Calipari sent a text message to Andy Katz saying, “I am accepting the UK job! Go Big Blue, coach Cal.”

Next up will be a press conference at 9:30 tomorrow morning.

Finally, reports on ESPN and CBS Sportsline that Calipari is on his way and he is on his way.  He has met with the Memphis Administration and announced that he will be the Next Coach at the University of Kentucky.

There are also reports that some players are wanting to follow him to UK and some will be entering the draft.  But I will have more on that later.

Now we can wait for the plane to arrive in Lexington and look to have one heck of a Pep Rally!  GO CATS!!!!!!!!!

John Calipari keeps changing his mind and nothing is definite.  This is from WREG out of Memphis, the Memphis TV station that reported that Calipari was coming to UK.  This is becoming quite the roller coaster.

This same TV station out of Memphis is now reporting that cars have left the Calipari Home and he is reported to be heading to the airport to get on a plane to Lexington.

Also, regarding the phone call to Joe B. Hall, it needs to be made clear that he did not say that Calipari was going to take the job at UK.  Calipari called him for information and that was all, there was no mention of Calipari taking the job.

We will be waiting even longer than we expected.

With all of the hoopla surrounding the impending move of Coach Cal to KY, we are all beginning to wonder how long his coattails are and which recruits will choose to follow him. Demarcus Cousins, the #2 player in the country, has verballed to Memphis but has not signed his letter of intent so he is free to open up his recruitment.

Enjoy this YouTube link of Cousins talking about his future once Cal is confirmed at KY.

According to the Courier Journal, Calipari has phoned Joe B. Hall in an attempt to gain some insight into the intricacies of his new job as Head Coach of the Kentucky Wildcats.

“That was awfully nice of him,” said Hall, who coached UK to the 1978 NCAA title.

It further states that Cal is expected to get in touch with Tubby Smith and Eddie Sutton. An announcement of his impending hire should be forthcoming.

WREG out of Memphis has announced that John Calipari has made his decision to become to the University of Kentucky Basketball Coach.  The Lexington Herald Leader is saying that Calipari is going to make a statement at 2:30 (which I am not sure if that is eastern or central time).  The Herald Leader is also reporting that UK is planning a celebration for tomorrow.

Calipari is reported to be meeting with his staff at his home in Memphis explaining his decision.  I am sure there are going to massive reports shortly, but I will encourage everyone to not celebrate until he has signed his contract and is in Lexington.

More news to follow later.

The news this morning surrounding John Calipari is that we are still waiting for the official announcement.  Most media outlets are saying that the deal to bring Calipari to Lexington are nearing completion or have been completed.  The University of Kentucky is preparing for an announcement sometime in the near future, but no one is sure if that will be today or later this week.

The Memphis newspaper, The Memphis Commercial Appeal, said that Memphis boosters were going after Calipari very strong last night, and it has been rumored that they offered $5 million a year, with backing from Nike and Fedex.  Those are rumors that were mentioned throughout the day yesterday.

Hopefully we will know more as the day moves along, but for now, we have to be patient.  It does look favorable for UK, but I do not want to jump the gun.  When Calipari is in Lexington and signing that dotted line, we can finally take a deep breath and be happy that we got the man that will bring UK basketball back.

The facebook group “Bring John Calipari to UK” is now over 15,000 strong.  You have to love the support that UK fans are showing UK’s first choice to be the next coach.  Great job Big Blue fans!

Channel 18, WHAS, wikipedia, and WMC out of Memphis are all reporting that Calipari has accepted the job.  I also reported that earlier, which I believe was little premature.  Currently he is meeting with Memphis Boosters to either discuss more money at Memphis or to try and get one of his assistants to be his successor.

All other major Media Outlets are reporting that the deal is getting closer but Calipari has not accepted the position yet.

I am sure that most everyone that reads this post already knows this information, but I am trying to keep the updates on this site just in case.

This has been a roller coaster ride of a day, and I expect tomorrow to be no different.  Today started out with a lot of excitement and started to look like Calipari would be accepting today.  By the time the afternoon hit, people started to think the deal was falling apart and Calipari was not sure what he was going to do.  Now, as the day is winding down, things are starting to look positive for the University of Kentucky.

I expect to hear some information from the UK players meeting at some point tonight or in the morning.  Jared Carter is the only one that made any comments to the media, and he did not give too much information, except that UK thinks they have a new coach and shrugged his shoulders when asked if it was Calipari.

I also saw an interview with a Memphis player and he said he did not know which way he is leaning, but other Memphis players seem to think he is all but gone at this point.

As the Big Blue Nation waits impatiently we will just have to keep waiting and see what tomorrow will bring.  So, say your prayers tonight and hold your breath.

It is great that UK is getting so much publicity out of this, and hopefully this is just the start to seeing UK in the main spotlight again.

Don’t forge to join the facebook group “Bring John Calipari to UK”.

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Calipari is going to be the next University of Kentucky basketball coach.  This is a great day to be a Wildcat, now we can look forward to having a pep rally and hope to see some of those high profile players follow him to UK.  The press conference set for 5:00 obviously did not happen, and I am sure many people are wondering about that.  Everyone expects to hear more information about a time for a press conference, and there are some people who are concerned about him backing out.

The meeting between Barnart and the UK players did already happen today, so we know that part of the early reports is correct.

To clarify the situation that is going on, John Calipari had told Memphis officials that he was going to take the job at UK.  Now he is meeting with Memphis boosters who are trying to do everything that they can to keep him.  The latest news is that they are working on the deal and we will not have any answers tonight.  I do feel that the longer this takes the chance of Calipari backing out is more likely.  However, people at UK feel confident in their Calipari and that he will be named coach within the next few days.  Some reports are saying it could be as late as Thursday.

Also, John Calipari did have an issue where he met with NC State about 3 years ago and at the very last moment he did not go through with the deal.  I am hearing that right now that people would be shocked if this deal does not happen.

Dont forget to join the facebook group “Bring John Calipari to UK”