According to Tracy Pierson of 247 Sports, there is “a great deal of buzz” about John Calipari possibly being the next head coach at UCLA.
Pierson claims sources have said that Calipari has “serious interest” in the job.
Here is an excerpt:
There is a great deal of buzz in the college basketball world about Kentucky head coach John Calipari possibly being the next UCLA coach.
According to various sources, the Hall of Fame coach is showing what some have described as “serious interest” in coming to Westwood.
Calipari’s credentials are impressive, and get him placed in the rarified air of elite college coaches today. He’s won a national championship, been to three other Final Fours and five Elite Eights, while being named the Naismith College Coach of the Year three times. He was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
It’s known that Calipari has always liked the UCLA job, loving Los Angeles and the lifestyle.
UCLA, in doing its due diligence since firing Steve Alford on New Year’s Eve in December, has had time to kick the tires on all the big-named coaches in the game to gauge interest. Calipari was one who seriously reciprocated.
Calipari wouldn’t come cheap for the Bruins, with the 60-year-old coach making over $7 million a year. Kentucky and Nike, too, aren’t going to let him get away without a fight in terms of making his deal at Kentucky and with the shoe company even more lucrative.
