Please tell me again why some college basketball coaches get paid $2 million a season?

John Calipari’s blunder in the final seconds of the national title game would have been grounds for an early boot from Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice TV show.

Calipari was compensated nicely two seasons ago by Memphis after flirting with the North Carolina State job. He certainly didn’t earn his meal money Monday night as he watched his Tigers squander a nine-point lead in final two minutes. At least he was man enough to admit it in the postgame interview with CBS reporter Sam Ryan, saying Memphis had “no business losing that game.”

You think, John?

All that was missing was Bill Self saying his Kansas club was “lucky” to win, because the Jayhawks were. Let’s face it, missed free throws by Memphis haunted the Tigers when it counted most, and then their coach locked up.

What was Calipari doing in the closing 10 seconds with his club up by three points and Kansas attacking the 3-point line for the tie? Why do coaches, who play the percentages ad nauseum throughout the game, go brain dead when it comes time to play the right numbers in crunch time?

Calipari sure did. A foul was in order before the game-tying 3-point shot attempt. Players who play scared lose games. The same goes for coaches. Walking the sidelines isn’t easy, and decisions have to come in split seconds. Second-guessing the highly-paid suits has risen to an art form the last decade with increased fan websites and blogging. Many times criticism is unfair and over-the-top, but not this time.

Some coaches would argue that placing a player at the line in that situation could result in one made free throw, a miss, and then an easy follow shot for a tie. My answer: If you can’t block out on a missed free throw with the game in a balance you deserve to lose.

Admit it Memphis fans, Calipari played scared and conservative in the clutch and it backfired.

On another note, what the heck was Ole Roy thinking by wearing a Jayhawk logo on his sweater in the stands on the heels of his team being were wiped off the court by his former school Saturday night? Williams will hear about that bonehead move as he returns to Chapel Hill, along with sitting on his hands and not calling a timeout or two as time was running out on his team in the first half.

Williams is a super nice guy, but he’s always trying to please. Try pleasing the school that now signs your paycheck and the fans who would follow you to the end of the earth. Stick to Carolina Blue Roy.