John Calipari seems to get it, even if Jim Calhoun doesn't.

It's OK to make a lot of money, even in today's terrible economy. It's called capitalism, and people understand the basic concept is that some are more fortunate than others.

The trend in recent years is that major college coaches are way more fortunate than almost anyone who doesn't steal money on Wall Street. Any coach who doesn't make at least a million dollars a year is in need of either a new agent or a shoe deal — or both.

Until now that's been OK, too. People want winners, and they recognize there's a price to pay for getting them.

Just don't rub their noses in it.

Say what you want about the activist who somehow found his way into Calhoun's postgame press conference the other day to question him about the $1.6 million he gets paid by the state of Connecticut to coach the nation's top college basketball team. Ken Krayeske clearly had an agenda, and it wasn't to talk about zone defenses or 3-point shooting.

But the question was a legitimate one, no matter how offended Calhoun seemed to be. In a state facing a budget deficit of up to $8 billion over the next two years, he was asked, how can anyone justify paying someone $1.6 million a year to win basketball games?

"I make a lot more than that," Calhoun said, before sinking even deeper into a morass of his own making.

"You're really not that stupid are you?" he said at one point, adding "My best advice for you is, shut up."

It's all on YouTube, so it's a little puzzling that Calhoun later said his comments were "misinterpreted" and that he didn't mean to degrade any of the little people who pay his salary. That's about all he had to say about it, even though the governor called the tirade an "embarrassing display" and two state legislators called for the coach to be reprimanded.

Calhoun, of course, has more important things to worry about than what the citizens of Connecticut think about paying his salary. His team is ranked No. 1 in the nation in the latest Associated Press poll, and has a big game coming up Saturday against Pittsburgh that will determine whether it will end the regular season in that spot.

But maybe some sensitivity training is in order. Because outside the gym, people are hurting.

While Calhoun worries about who the Huskies might have to play in the NCAA tournament, there are an increasing number of people in Connecticut worrying about how they will pay their mortgage or find enough money to retire on. They root for the Huskies, but at the same time they wonder if they'll be able to send their children to college.

They'll probably never see $1.6 million in their lifetime, much less in one year. That doesn't mean they begrudge Calhoun's right to earn it.

Just don't rub their noses in it.

Do what Calipari did after Memphis won its 20th straight game Saturday and the subject of coaches and money came up as it has in a lot of places around the country since Calhoun's rant.

Admit the obvious.

"We're obnoxiously paid," Calipari told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "We are."

That was mostly overlooked in good times, when even state universities could get away with paying coaches 10 times what their governor made. But those times are gone for what will likely be quite some time, so it's not out of line to suggest that some corrections might be in order, at least when it comes to taxpayers picking up the tab.

The real problem with Calhoun's response was that he seemed to have such a sense of entitlement to his millions at a time when people are so frightened about their own futures. He doesn't seem to get it, which isn't all that surprising since coaches tend to live in an insular world where all that matters is what 18-year-olds they can convince to come to their school and how many of them they will need to win.

Keep winning, and good things keep happening. Calhoun has won 801 times in his career, and a lot of good things have happened to his bank account because of it.

The thousands who packed Gampel Pavilion the other night to watch the Huskies beat Notre Dame didn't seem to mind that. They gave him three standing ovations as a gesture of support, and some held pictures of him above their heads.

They believe the state of Connecticut is richer because of Calhoun, and that might be true.

What isn't in doubt is that he's a lot richer because of them.