Calipari to Kentucky.

[wildkycat]

Originally Posted by RellNye

I guarantee they don't win a NC w/in his first 5 years. The hype is warranted for Cal but that ball program needs more than 5 star recruits to win.

This statement by the AD is just horrible.

What do you expect? He's from Kentucky.

what exactly does this program need to win?

 

[aepps20]

Originally Posted by dreClark

Originally Posted by aepps20

Originally Posted by dreClark

Originally Posted by Uter Zorker

Arizona has found its head coach per GOAZCATS and will be announced either today or tomorrow...

Wojo

Wojo is the heir apparent to coach K remember?

Son I will roundhouse kick you in the shin.

Dre U know I'm just messin with U.

 

[N41D]

Originally Posted by Uter Zorker

Arizona has found its head coach per GOAZCATS and will be announced either today or tomorrow...

It's either Few, Capel, Floyd, or Pearl

Please don't be Capel... *crosses fingers*

And for God's sake, please don't be Bruce Pearl...

I can'timagine having to tolerate that douche being in the spotlight more than he already is...

 

[sylvestermcgrizzly]

Capel is not gonna leave OU for zona...i can see floyd making that move if he doesn't get the memphis position...

 

[wildkycat]

- Expect at least Josh Pastner (a great recruiter) and another assistant to follow Calipari. I have not heard yet about Rod Strickland, but he has worked for Cal for 17 years. That would leave one spot open (usually couched as a "basketball ops" spot)….lot of push from folks around the program to get Scott Padgett for that position.

- Tonight Xavier Henry and DeMarcus Cousins will be playing in the McDonalds game. I am told that Cousins could very well end up a Cat and that "one of Cal's first two priorities" is getting Daniel Orton to stay on board with his commitment. The recruiting landscape has completely changed for UK and we will deal some with that over the next couple of days.

- As far as lineup issues, I was told that "the Seniors will all be back, because of the time they have put in" and that it was possible that Porter may decide to no longer play after having the baby. Patterson, Meeks and Miller are all locks, but the rest of the roster is very much up in the air. If you assume this to be true then the scholarships that are certain are:

Patterson
Meeks
Galloway
Harris
Stevenson
Miller

That is six, assuming Patterson and Meeks return. With Konner Tucker no longer on an offer, then three more would be taken by the new guys

Orton
Hood
Vilarino

That leaves nine (assuming all stay committed and Cal stays committed to them). That would leave these guys with futures still up in the air

Liggins
Stewart
Williams
Pilgrim
Harrellson

As you can see, those are 14 people for 13 scholarships….the exact same amount UK has. But for every NEW recruit brought in, someone from that list would not return. If one considers these departures likely (as I do):

Stewart
Williams

Then that leaves 12…meaning (assuming Porter doesnt return…which isnt certain), Cal could bring one more player and still be under the scholarship amount. Any more than that and hard decisions will have to be made.

 

[N41D]

I don't see any hard decisions to be made with that last group of kids... Other than maybe Liggins, none of them dudes should be playing at Kentucky...

All of them are expendable assuming they're catching the boot for Cal's Memphis recruits...

 

[johnnyredstorm]

Floyd to Arizona would be a huge mistake on Arizona's part. You can't follow up Lute Olsen with Tim Floyd.

I got a feeling Mark Few might finally make the move...

 

[uter zorker]

All speculation at this point but apparently Few turned down the job and Arizona and Capel are in negotiations...

God can only hope this is true.

 

[ThaxbyChamblis]

Originally Posted by Uter Zorker

All speculation at this point but apparently Few turned down the job and Arizona and Capel are in negotiations...

God can only hope this is true.

 

[N41D]

[DarthVader] NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO [/DarthVader]

 

[craftsy21]

Can't see Few leaving for Arizona

 

[seymore cake]

Originally Posted by dreClark

Originally Posted by Uter Zorker

All speculation at this point but apparently Few turned down the job and Arizona and Capel are in negotiations...

God can only hope this is true.

 

[gatorb807]

i don't blame Capel for leaving. Blake Griffin will be gone and Xavier Henry and Orton had little to no interest in OU.

Capel will do big things.......if he does well at Zona you know he will be Duke's top choice once K calls it quits.

He and Grant Hill are 2 Dukies that I root for.

 

[gottagitdemjs]

From what I read at GoAZcats.com, Few told Arizona no thanks, and they have struck a deal with Caple to be their next coach, but they're being quiet incase they can get Pitino.

And look for Xavier Henry to be a Jayhawk by weeks end.

 

[dmoney23444]

John Wall to take an official visit to UK on Friday!!!!

 

[clutchshooter]

not sure why few would turn down a job like that.

capel is a great choice tho.

 

[wildkycat]

Originally Posted by DMONEY23444

John Wall to take an official visit to UK on Friday!!!!

where you see/hear that?

 

[clutchshooter]

no point in the charade of a visit, he's going there even if the school is rampant with poisonous snakes.

.

 

[philballa09]

edit: nvm

 

[scoop83]

Originally Posted by blazinjkid

Yeah, Pat Forde went all out. There aren't too many dudes on ESPN who would've had the balls to say all that.

Disclaimer: Forde co-authored a book with Pitino that came out last year, "Rebound Rules". So, take his column for what it's worth ...

 

[wildkycat]

i'm not mad at Forde for writing that...it's definitely a lot to consider.

Pastner will follow Calipari to Kentucky

you can see Calipari's contract here

 

[jumpmantwenty3]

Originally Posted by wildKYcat

i'm not mad at Forde for writing that...it's definitely a lot to consider.

Pastner will follow Calipari to Kentucky

you can see Calipari's contract here

lol, Leon Rose is his agent?

 

[wildkycat]

Calipari deal has many perks

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The $31.65 million deal making John Calipari the highest-paid coach in college basketball is packed with perks beyond his annual salary, including membership to the country club of his choice, two cars and incentives for reaching the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and Final Four and winning a national title.

Calipari agreed to leave Memphis and Tuesday night signed the eight-year contract to join the nation's all-time winningest basketball program.

His base pay is listed at just $400,000 per year, but his guaranteed compensation actually is $3.7 million in his first season when marketing, broadcasting and endorsement payments are added.

The Wildcats paid Memphis $200,000 as part of Calipari's buyout of his Tigers' contract, which had paid him $2.35 million per year.

Including $3 million in retention bonuses he'll get for staying with Kentucky through March 31, 2016, Calipari is in line to receive an average of $4 million a year over the eight years.

The deal also gives Calipari:

• Two "late model, quality automobiles," plus mileage.

• Membership in a country club of his choice, including monthly dues and initiation fees.

• 20 prime "lower-level" season tickets to UK home games.

• Eight tickets for each UK home football game.

• Hundreds of thousands of dollars in incentives for reaching certain milestones, such as a 75 percent graduation rate or better ($50,000), winning the Southeastern Conference ($50,000), winning the SEC tournament ($50,000), making the NCAA tournament round of 16 ($100,000), making the Final Four ($175,000), or winning the national title ($375,000).

• The right to income from conducting basketball camps using UK facilities.

Should the university fire Calipari without cause, he would still receive $3 million for each year left on the contract, double the annual buyout former Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie says he is entitled to under his memorandum of understanding.

The rich contract comes at a time when tuition rates have spiked at the university and state higher education funds have shrunk. UK officials defended the salary package by saying the athletics budget is completely separate from the academic side, and a successful basketball program pays for itself several times over.

"If I went through and paid a coach $1.5 million and I didn't get the right guy, there would be people mad at me on that side," Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said. "If I got one of the more expensive contracts in the country, I'm going to get it from that side. We're the pre-eminent basketball program in the country, and if we want a premier coach, then that's what it takes to get it done."

Florida coach Billy Donovan, who Kentucky courted for its coaching vacancy two years earlier, was believed to have the previous high salary for a college basketball coach, with $3.5 million a year. After winning last year's NCAA title, Kansas' Bill Self signed a 10-year, $30 million deal.

Alabama football coach Nick Saban's eight-year, $32 million deal in 2007 includes private use of a university airplane, two cars and a country club membership. Like Kentucky, the money is covered by athletic department revenue, and not -- directly at least -- by taxpayers.

Such is the trend in landing the people to lead the most prominent major college programs, but even some supporters of the Calipari hire say the trend is troubling.

"This thing has been an arms race for years," said former UK star Larry Conley, now a broadcaster. "Doesn't seem to have an end to it. Whether it's coaches' salary, practice facilities, it continues to escalate. At some point, you've got to have an end."

Few seem to be arguing that the investment in Calipari won't reap financial benefits, assuming he returns Kentucky to prominence.

Kim Bucci, director of sponsorship sales at IMG College, which handles marketing for UK's TV and radio network, says there is so much buzz around the Calipari hiring that she expects marketing deals beyond what it has now. Those deals include a local bank, phone company, car dealership and state highway department.

"His personality lends to business entities wanting to associate with the brand of UK basketball and the personality of John Calipari," Bucci said.

Rob Mullens, UK's associate athletics director who helped negotiate Calipari's deal, said the university also has direct contracts with Nike and Gatorade not related to the broadcast rights. An energetic new coach will only help those, Mullens said.

"We guarantee everything in there, so anything that happens on the top line really does not have a direct correlation to what happens on the bottom line," Mullens said.

In fact, he said, the athletics department -- largely thanks to the revenue generators of football and men's basketball -- gives back more than $1 million each year to the academic side for scholarships and other programs.

Still, through a series of budget cuts, state funding for Kentucky's public schools has been slashed by 7.2 percent, or about $78 million, in the last two fiscal years ending June 30.

UK has lost approximately $24.8 million in state funding in that time, according to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. In-state tuition rates are going up 5 percent next year, after spiking 9 percent each of the previous two years.

"It's always tough when you talk about money," said Dermonti Dawson, a Hall of Fame offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers who is a member of the UK board of trustees. "People feel coaches are overpaid. But if you want to get a coach in here with good character and recruiting and able to rebuild the program, sometimes you have to step out and pay more than what you normally would."

The latest federal data shows Kentucky's men's basketball team produced $14.9 million in revenue in 2007-08, with expenses of $8.6 million. The football team and men's basketball team account for virtually all of the $41 million in revenue produced by Kentucky sports teams, with their profits helping cover the bill for the rest of the athletic program.

The most recent NCAA gender equity report, which covers data from 2005-2006, put the average Division I head basketball coach's salary at $409,600 for men and $187,300 for women.

Even those figures would have been quite suitable for former UK coach Joe B. Hall, who says he got a raise to $40,000 after leading the team to the 1978 national title. Hall acknowledges it was a different world then.

"It wasn't like it is now where you can get lifetime security in one year," Hall said.

 

[al3xis]

What I read now is Capel has cooled on UofA.

LOL @ Floyd.

 

[jdcurt2]

The perks are crazy

and I also heard Wall is supposed to make a visitsoon

Dont know if i'm late but Henry to decide tomorrow http://www.cjonline.com/sports/2009-04-01/recruit_henry_to_choose_thursday