he University of Memphis moved one step closer on Monday to making John Calipari the school's next men's basketball coach.

Calipari met with U of M athletic director R.C. Johnson and president V. Lane Rawlins at the Atlanta airport, but both sides say there has been no agreement reached.

Calipari, a Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach and former coach at the University of Massachusetts, said he asked Johnson to arrange the meeting with Rawlins, who announced last week that he will leave the U of M for the president's position at Washington State this summer.

Memphis is currently being coached on an interim basis by Johnny Jones, who took over when former coach Tic Price resigned on Nov. 14.

Calipari and Johnson had previously met at an airport in Chicago in December.

"I wanted to meet Dr. Rawlins and talk with him, and I was very, very impressed with him," Calipari said. "I wish he was staying."

Johnson said the meeting lasted around four hours, with Rawlins there for most of it. He said no agreement or understanding had been reached.

Sources close to the situation say that Calipari and Johnson have talked about details that would be included in an offer. The details include a possible salary around $1 million and the amount of control Calipari would have with the basketball program, as well as further commitments from the university to the program.

"I wanted the president to meet with him and vice versa, and we had some very nice discussions,'' Johnson said. "We are still just into the process. Several of the (media outlets) are reporting that it is a done deal, and that is not true."

Johnson said he talked to Jones and members of his staff Monday to reassure them that Jones "is still a finalist for the position."

Memphis is 10-15, 3-9 in Conference USA after Sunday's win over UNC Charlotte.

"It's just like a recruiting commitment, and we are not even to that point yet (with Calipari)," Johnson said. "That's why I'm so cautious."

Calipari reiterated his desire to visit the campus before making any decision on the Memphis job. He said there were no plans to do that, and does not want to visit until the U of M has determined Jones's status.

"Obviously, I have still to visit the campus before I do anything, like I've said before," Calipari said.

Johnson said there is no timetable on the hiring process, despite reports that he wanted to hire a new coach at the Conference USA tournament.

"The only thing I've ever said is sometime toward the end of the season," Johnson said.

In a related development, The Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer has reported that the U of M contacted N.C. State athletic director Les Robinson about outgoing Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins, who resigned on Friday.

Robinson and Cremins are good friends. Robinson told the newspaper that the U of M has not asked permission to talk to N.C. State coach Herb Sendek.

Johnson declined to talk about any other specific candidates.

To reach reporter Zack McMillin, call 529-2564; E-mail: [email protected]

OUSTON - The University of Memphis basketball team will come back home today, go to classes on Friday and then fly to Milwaukee.

John Calipari will already be there, but he won't be meeting the players he could be coaching next year, and could be in charge of before winter officially ends in March.

Calipari is an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers - for now - and he will be in Milwaukee for a game with the Bucks on Friday night and an afternoon practice while Memphis plays Marquette on Saturday. He says it may be three weeks before he makes a decision on whether to become the U of M's next basketball coach, and maintains that he will not decide anything until he visits the campus.

When will that happen? Calipari, former coach at the University of Massachusetts, said the visit would have to be inconspicuous, at least while the Tigers and interim coach Johnny Jones have games to play.

``I don't want to come in there and it be a zoo,'' Calipari said. ``If I could slide in and out of there, I would. There are seniors on that team . . . and I don't want to be a distraction.''

Those close to the situation believe it is inevitable that Calipari will accept the job: One source put the probability between 95 and 100 percent. They also say that U of M athletic director R.C. Johnson and Calipari have talked about an offer near $1 million.

Timing is everything, however, and Calipari would prefer that the final acts of this drama play out after Memphis's season is over.

``What if they win the (Conference USA) Tournament and go to the NCAAs?'' Calipari said, adding that he knows the school would like to act sooner rather than later. ``A natural position (for the U of M) to take is, `Let's get this over with.'

Some variation of that message was likely conveyed when Calipari, Johnson and U of M president V. Lane Rawlins met in Atlanta on Monday. That meeting was an indication that Johnson has told Calipari that Jones knows he is not the school's top choice for the job, even if he is still considered a candidate.

``I would not have gone on Monday if I didn't think Johnny knew about this situation,'' Calipari said.

Jones has privately told people he believes it is close to a done deal with Calipari.

Rawlins maintains that they did not ``talk much turkey'' at the meeting, instead focusing on what Rawlins could convey about the city, the university and the basketball program.

``I gave him a glowing report on Memphis, Tennessee, which is the only kind of report I ever give on Memphis,'' said Rawlins, who is leaving the school in June to become president at Washington State University. ``He wanted to find out about what we do, how we do it, what is the campus like, what is the city like.''

Rawlins, who is staying involved with the coaching search, liked what he saw in Calipari.

``I found him to be very down to earth and likable, very matter-of-fact and warm about things,'' Rawlins said. ``Most people with his status in life surround themselves with agents and (other people), but I found him to be a real stand-up guy.''

What else do we know about Calipari that suggests he would be a good fit for the job?

He and his wife, Ellen, have a young family, with daughters Erin (13), Megan (10) and son Bradley (3). Ellen is originally from Osceola, Missouri, a small town in west-central Missouri between Springfield and Kansas City. The two met when Calipari was an assistant coach at Kansas and she was a secretary there.

Calipari has said he would like her to see Memphis, but he backed off it somewhat on Wednesday. ``I would if I think it is important that she see it,'' Calipari said.

Calipari would like to settle somewhere long enough for his daughters to complete high school, and he knows there is more stability - or what he calls a "lifespan'' - with a college than the NBA.

And if he does come to Memphis, does he believe there is talent to compete immediately?

``I haven't watched that much of them,'' Calipari says. ``Some of the guys there I really like. But you've got to see them, see how they jump, see their skills, see their quickness, see how tough they are. Will they take the big shot at the end of the game even if they've missed four in a row?''

Calipari is quick to cite his success at UMass (five Atlantic 10 championships, one Final Four) and the New Jersey Nets (43 wins and the playoffs in his second season), but knows his limitations.

``I'm a regular guy, we are regular people,'' he said. ``I'm not a miracle worker, but I know I can get a group together to succeed and make it a unique situation. I can get the most out of people, get them to believe in destiny.''

In Milwaukee this weekend, Calipari and the U of M basketball program will cross paths. Only time will tell if they are indeed destined to be together.

To reach reporter Zack McMillin, call 529-2564; E-mail: [email protected]

he next step, according to John Calipari, is a campus tour.

After meeting off-campus with Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson last week about that program's need for a big name - the Philadelphia 76ers assistant's name, Johnson hopes - Calipari may be mere steps from packing his bags and family for Elvis' hometown.

``As soon as I visit the school, I'll feel better about what I want to do,'' he said. ``I need to do that as soon as possible, though with all of the games (the Sixers) have coming up, I'm not sure yet when that will be. But I can't make a decision until then. It's a very good conference (Conference USA), and Memphis has one of the best situations in that league. The commitment is there. The Pyramid is as good as it gets as a facility.

Calipari also would move into one of the most fertile recruiting regions of the country - a situation that does not exist at Georgia Tech. The outgoing Bobby Cremins, despite his clout within college basketball, never was the main, or even second, third or fourth act in Atlanta.

Calipari's name was linked to the Georgia Tech job well before Cremins made his announcement last week - a circumstance the former architect of UMass basketball now wants to push away.

``I called Bobby as soon as my name came out and told him that I had no interest in his job,'' said Calipari. ``I talked with him three weeks before he made the announcement, and I told him how much I hated my name coming out like that. I've been mentioned for other jobs that had guys still in them, too, and I hated that.''

Memphis was different, with former assistant Johnny Jones running the team on an interim basis. And Johnson, via his longtime association with UMass athletic director Bob Marcum, has been charting Calipari for quite some time now.

``Bob has been like my personal PR machine,'' said Calipari, who, despite his appeal on the college level, still can't resist leaving that NBA door open a crack.

``I want to be in a place that's committed - someplace where I can stay for a while, like the eight years I spent at UMass,'' he said. ``I'd still like to coach in the NBA, but it's hard to imagine any coach staying in one place that long. You have a great coach up there in Boston with the Celtics, and look at what he's going through.

``In New Jersey we made the right choices, and we changed the area's perception of the team, and I was still fired,'' he said. ``I think you'll find that in any place with a new ownership, the coach always gets fired.

``I don't consider myself a college coach - I coach basketball, period. If you asked Sam Cassell or Kerry Kittles, they'd call me an NBA coach. Other guys who didn't get as many minutes might have something different to say.''