Kentucky officials expect John Calipari to accept an offer to become their program's next basketball coach, a source close to the school told CBSSports.com on Monday. The source said UK believes it could introduce Calipari within the next 48 hours, that athletic director Mitch Barnhart is merely waiting for the "Yes" he believes is imminent, barring an unsuspected hang-up in the final stages of negotiations.
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"It's close, but it's not quite done," one source on the Memphis side told CBSSports.com. "Kentucky is pretty sure it's done, but you know Cal, he could change his mind at the last minute."
A source said Calipari has the guidelines of the offer in place, and that "his people are reviewing it." The source said the offer would make Calipari the highest-paid college coach in America, though details remain sketchy. A separate source said the Memphis assistants are already touching base with recruits to make sure they'd jump to the SEC with them, and a different source said Memphis freshman Wesley Witherspoon would likely follow Calipari to Kentucky.
Assuming Calipari leaves, expect Memphis to target Missouri coach Mike Anderson or Southern California coach Tim Floyd.
An industry source said Anderson will listen. Floyd's possible level of interest is unclear.
Also, a source close to Calipari tells CBSSports.com that the coach is pushing the school to look at Tony Barbee as a successor. Barbee played for Calipari at Massachusetts and was a Memphis assistant before becoming UTEP head coach in 2006.
