Sportsfrog.com

With apologies to the departed Pushing Daisies, the facts are these:

1. Plenty of sources are saying that John Calipari and Kentucky officials have a “mutual interest” in talking to each other;

2. Kentucky has not asked Memphis for permission to talk to Calipari. Yet.

3. Some Memphis fans will seize on number two as proof that this is all hooey. Delusion is fun.

4. There are zero reasons that Calipari should not talk to Memphis, and many several millions why he should. Oh, and Kentucky is just s l i g h t l y more prestigious than Memphis. Which is not to slag on my adopted town’s program. It just ain’t Kentucky. Few programs are.

5. That said, Geoff Calkins in the Commercial Appeal plays counter-point, noting that there is nothing Calipari can accomplish at Kentucky that he can’t at Memphis, and that talking to Kentucky gives Calipari the juice he needs for another sweet contract re-do in Memphis. Maybe.

That’s the lay of the land from Memphis this morning. And I have seen enough of these go down, up close and from afar, to know that it is not worth breathlessly paying attention to, as certain of the Tigers and Wildcat fanbases will. There are tons of legitimate reasons for Calipari and Kentucky to woo each other, and just as many reasons for him to take the job if offered. There are nearly as many reasons for Calipari to pitch and receive woo and stay put.

In the end, whatever it is that decides things for Calipari and UK, one way or another, will be legitimate and there is nothing, really, that anyone can do or say about it.

What can be said, from having watched Calipari run the program here in Memphis for the much of the last decade, is that UK would be lucky to have him. For all of the reputation that preceded him to Memphis, and the used car salesman image he projects, he has been a tireless promoter of the university and the program from day one. He has delivered on everything he has promised. He said he would make Memphis a national program again, and he did. He said he would win recruiting battles, and he has. He said he would graduate players, and, once again, he has. A large percentage of them. He has been an outstanding bench coach, and a steadfast champion for his players. There have been times when he has appeared too forgiving of individual transgressions, but that’s a flaw he shares with a lot of coaches. And, I suspect, that loyalty helps him when he is in the recruiting process. And he has developed players of varying high school pedigrees be as good as they can be on the court and go on to the NBA.

Kentucky would be lucky to have him, and Memphis has been lucky to be on the ride they have with John Calipari. There will never be another period of time where Memphis has this kind of sustained success, should Calipari move on. And being ground zero to a “those were the years” time in a program has been fun. If Kentucky does the smart thing, they will find a way to get Cal to relocate to Lexington. They, and their fanbase, will not be disappointed.