On Monday, ESPN announced that former Indiana head basketball coach Tom Crean would be joining them this year as a college basketball analyst.

Personally, I think ESPN hit the jackpot with bringing in Crean. Though his teams at Indiana were inconsistent, he’s one of the best minds in college basketball. I think he will provide better insight than Shaq and Chuck do during the NCAA Tournament. From my experience in watching college basketball coverage, having past head coaches as analysts, like Seth Greenberg, Fran Fraschilla and Paul Biancardi, is a lot more beneficial than having past players, such as Chauncey Billups and Tracy McGrady.

Not to mention, there’s something special about Crean that makes me want to gravitate to the TV every time I see his face. I’m not sure if it’s his glasses, his funny facial expressions, drinking five cans of diet coke every game, or how he’s such an entertaining and exciting guy.

This man just has the IT factor that makes him a great fit for any job.

While there was speculation Crean would be a candidate for the Louisville job, those alleged reports were shut down immediately and boy oh boy am I happy about that. Crean made his TV debut on The Vertical’s Live NBA Draft show and was outstanding on the show. Working as an analyst will be a stress reliever for Crean and his family after working rigorous hours in the past couple years as a division one high-major college basketball coach. Not only that, but crazy college basketball and Tom Crean fans, like myself, will tune in every chance they get to see a guy like Crean on their televisions screens.

In addition to Crean, ESPN also picked up a few other notable names from college basketball’s past. Former Georgetown coach John Thompson III along with ex-players Caron Butler (UConn) and Robbie Hummel (Purdue).

THE TOM CREAN MEMES LIVE FOR ANOTHER DAY.

This still doesn’t make up for letting go of Andy Katz, ESPN.