A T.O. with T.H.

This week Jim Calhoun, the head coach of the Connecticut Huskies, fired off at a member of the press when the reporter asked Calhoun about his salary.

Ken Krayeske asked Calhoun if he minded being the highest-paid state employee in Connecticut, despite the tough economy.

Krayeske asked if Calhoun made $1.6 million, and Calhoun smugly responded, “I make a lot more than that.”

Then he went on to tell the reporter to shut up and to go do his homework. As the coach pointed out, the basketball team reels in about $12 million a year.

This was really funny to me. I have attended in numerous press conferences and there is nothing I love more than random questions.

A press conference is a place to get the coach’s thoughts on the game.

If you want to pull him out in the hallway afterward, do it. But you should never ask this question after a game.

And why does Calhoun’s salary matter anyway?

A lot of people argue that too much money goes to facilities and coaches in college. I guess because they can’t complain about players’ salaries, then the people who pretend to know anything about sports argue they are overpaid. No true Connecticut basketball fan is belly aching about the coach’s salary.

Calhoun might be highly paid, but he earns every penny of it.

In 23 seasons as the Huskies coach, he has amassed 551 victories, two national championships and six Big East tournament championships.

He is revered as one of the top coaches in college basketball, and he has earned a large contract.
Coaches like Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, Pat Summit or Bob Knight (were he to return) should be able to pick their salaries, within reason of course.

They are winners, and what do you pay winner to do? WIN.

This “reporter” needs to shut up, and so should all the people who act as if it is an outrage when a coach gets a raise.

It is a ridiculous argument. In any other job, struggling economy or not, if you’re successful, you get paid more.

If Anthony Grant led VCU to a national title, I guarantee his raise would see little opposition from anyone who has ever set foot in the Siegel Center for a game.

UConn basketball brings in $12 million a year. The guy who is responsible for bringing in and nurturing the players who earn it gets a fraction of that.

There is nothing wrong with that, so shut up!