ony Barbee's second stint as an assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts turned out to be a short one. The former Minuteman left to become the No. 1 assistant coach on coach John Calipari's Memphis staff.

Barbee played for Calipari when the new Memphis mentor coached at UMass.

Barbee, who was the No. 2 assistant at UMass, will be the Tigers' top assistant, according to Minuteman coach Bruiser Flint.

"It's a great opportunity for him," Flint said. "He's got a chance to work with the coach he played for, and a coach who's had four of his former assistants become head coaches. Plus, they're going to pay him a nice chunk of change."

Barbee was the No. 3 (nonrecruiting) UMass assistant during the 1997-98 season before leaving to become the No. 2 assistant at Wyoming for one season. He returned to become Flint's No. 2 assistant this year.

In his seven years as a player or coach, Barbee's teams have reached the postseason every year. Barbee is fourth on UMass' career scoring list, with 1,643 points.

Flint praised Barbee's work at UMass, adding that he thinks Barbee is on a fast-track as a coach.

"He was fantastic," Flint said. "He was great with the kids. He's going to be a head coach somewhere real soon, so I knew I didn't have him for long."

Some prospective candidates for the vacancy created by Barbee's departure will be in Amherst this weekend to interview.

Former UMass point guard Derek Kellogg, who is currently an assistant at Youngstown State, is expected to be among those candidates.

Barbee might not be the only departing coach. Fellow assistant Geoff Arnold has been rumored to be a candidate for a post at the University of Hartford.

MHERST � The University of Massachusetts men's basketball staff has been busy recruiting players, but now the Minutemen will have to recruit a new recruiter.

Assistant coach Tony Barbee, credited for revitalizing the Minutemen's recruiting picture, has joined the Memphis staff under John Calipari, who was Barbee's coach at UMass from 1989-93.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that Barbee, who was not available for comment yesterday, was present at a Tigers' workout Monday and is joining the staff.

Meanwhile, UMass coach Bruiser Flint met yesterday with the family of 6-foot-8 power Jackie Rogers, a power forward at Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kan., who has given the Minutemen a verbal commitment. Flint then left for a junior-college recruiting trip to Alabama.

Rogers has dealt with Flint, Barbee and UMass associate coach Geoff Arnold, and his decision to attend UMass comes as Barbee is leaving and Arnold may follow suit.

Arnold is one of three finalists for the vacant head coaching job at the University of Hartford, where former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins' name was floated early in the search process.

But now, the candidates appear to be Arnold, St. John's assistant Kevin Clark and Karl Hobbs, an assistant at Connecticut who reportedly has mixed feelings about the job. Hobbs is also a candidate at American University, and he may also stay at UConn.

Rogers had been delaying his decision until he was sure Flint would not be fired, and staff changes among the assistants will not change his commitment to UMass. In addition to the coaches, he has said he likes the UMass campus and its proximity to his home in Syracuse, N.Y.

Losing Barbee is not unexpected, since Memphis is in position to pay him substantially more money, according to sources. Contacted last night, Flint did not dispute the Memphis story.

Barbee returned to UMass in 1999 after a year at Wyoming, and has been credited with the recruitment of several players, including Jameel Pugh, a promising 6-4 guard from Sacramento, Calif.

While Barbee was in Memphis, Arnold was in Amherst, saying only that he wouldn't rule out a move.

"You don't look for opportunities in this business, but when one presents itself, you have to look at it," he said.

He also praised the potential at Hartford, saying the Hawks "will never be the best team in Connecticut with UConn around, but they could be the second best."

An assistant at St. Joseph's and UMass, Arnold became the source of speculation that for Flint to keep his own job, he'd have to find a new associate coach. Carrying out that ultimatum would have been wrenching, since Arnold is also Flint's former college teammate and is a close friend.

But Flint has flatly denied ever being approached about such a change. Now Arnold has a chance to land his first head-coaching job, which would allow him to part professional company with Flint in an infinitely more positive fashion.

Unlike Barbee, Arnold has not developed a high-profile recruiting reputation while at UMass. But he did help the Minutemen nearly land Philadelphia high school star Eddie Griffin, one of the nation's top prospects who kept UMass on his short list before choosing Seton Hall.

And at St. Joseph's, Arnold successfully recruited the type of second-tier player that Hartford, an America East team, could also attract. A decision from Hartford is expected soon.

Barbee is being joined on Calipari's staff by Steve Roccaforte, an assistant with Barbee at Wyoming. Memphis basketball media relations director Ron Mears told the Commercial Appeal that a formal announcement on the coaches won't be made until Calipari's full staff is assembled.

Meanwhile, Flint is continuing his recruiting even though the addition of Rogers would fill his roster. Scholarships would become available either if current players transfer, or if incoming recruits are not academically eligible to play as freshmen.

Currently, Boston English forward Raheim Lamb and Lynn English guard Anthony Anderson are not academically eligible. Lamb and Pugh are the only signed recruits, while Anderson, Rogers and 6-5 Jarrett Kearse (a former West Virginia player who did not play this season) have given verbal commitments and cannot formally sign until April.

A sixth new player, 6-8 Eric Williams, sat out the past season after transferring from Syracuse. Rogers and Williams are expected to give UMass two true power forwards, shoring up the rebounding that faltered this season.