John Calipari was brought to The University of Memphis because he is a great recruiter and established coach with name recognition.
Those are the same reasons he is being mentioned as a possible replacement for recently departed coach Ben Howland at the University of Pittsburgh after Howland took over at UCLA Thursday afternoon.
Reports from ESPN’s college basketball guru Andy Katz suggested Calipari is, in fact, interested in taking the job near his hometown of Moon Township, Pa. and with the team with which he once was an assistant.
Katz also mentioned NC State’s head coach Herb Sendek and current Pittsburgh assistant coach Jamie Dixon.
The names of Skip Prosser, Wake Forest coach, Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez and Xavier coach Thad Matta have also been mentioned.
Also Milwaukee Bucks coach George Karl, former college and pro coach Tim Floyd, Louisville assistant Mick Cronin and Michigan State assistant Brian Gregory names’ have been tossed around as candidates, but Calipari’s is by far the most prominent.
Adidas President Sonn Vaccaro told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Calipari, who he has known since the Memphis coach was young, is a great candidate for the Panthers position.
“Johnny would be a strong candidate,” Vaccarro said yesterday. “Johnny is a great basketball coach.
Calipari, who is earning $1.1 million a year at The U of M, did not completely shut down the idea of taking the position, but did tell the Commercial Appeal he has not been contacted by Pittsburgh.
“Sonny (Vaccaro) can say whatever he wants,” Calipari said, from New Orleans, La. watching the Final Four. “The reason my name is coming up is because I am from up there. But they haven’t contacted me, and I haven’t contacted them. We have something good here (at Memphis).”
Memphis Athletic Director R.C. Johnson said he feels safe Calipari will remain in Memphis and finish out his contract with The U of M, which extends two more seasons.
“It does not bother me because I really believe that if you get the type of person that you want to get — at any level — and you get them to do what you want them to do, this is going to happen,” Johnson said. “John is a name. He’s flamboyant. And I’m comfortable that he’s going to stay. He’s indicated that he wants to stay. I think this is all just part of it. I’m comfortable with what we’re doing, and we’re going to always try to make things as good as we can for John. But I’d rather it be this way than nobody wanting my coach.”
Teams searching for a high profile coach look for Calipari because he has compiled a record of 71-31 in three years at Memphis and a 264-102 mark for his career.
Calipari has led the Tigers to a NIT title in 2002, and their first NCAA aapearance in seven years this past March.
