MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- John Calipari walked into the grand lobby here at FedExForum on Tuesday for a press conference to announce the Hoops For St. Jude Tip-off Classic -- an exhibition scheduled for next month between the team he now coaches ( Arkansas ) and the team he used to coach (Memphis) with proceeds benefitting the internationally acclaimed downtown hospital located minutes away.

But it was so much more than just a press conference.

For anybody who understands the history of Calipari in Memphis, or the relationship between Calipari and Memphis since he left for Kentucky in March 2009, it was a sweet scene -- one that seemed to represent the official beginning of the end of an awkward existence between two things that seemed like a perfect match for nine remarkable years

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