Archive for April 9th, 2008

A couple nuggets today culled from conversations with people close to the Memphis program.
– Assistant coach Chuck Martin will interview Thursday for the head coaching job at Marist. It’s a good job in the MAAC and would be a great opportunity for him.
– No word yet on whether Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts will declare for the NBA Draft. Though clearly they are expected to, there’s no rush. For Rose, the only issue is his maturity. The whole tummyache thing because you like to eat Twizzlers and Sour Patch Kids is cute when you’re in college. Not so much when you’re a pro. For CDR, the issue is where he’s going to be selected. If he comes back for his senior year, he’ll probably go higher simply because next year’s draft is so much weaker. John Calipari will help him get all the information possible before he makes a decision.
– Things are progressing as far as John Calipari’s contract. This isn’t like a couple years ago, when Calipari was so upset about the negotiations that he nearly went to N.C. State. R.C. Johnson and others in powerful positions have been very proactive this time around. People in the Memphis administration understand what they have and what they stand to lose if Calipari gets away. The going rate at the top of the profession is somewhere between $2.5 and $3 million, and at the end of the day, I believe that’s what Calipari will make at Memphis next season.
