What to Make of Tom Crean's Legacy Now That Indiana Has Fired Him

Indiana announced today that the school is parting ways with men's basketball head coach Tom Crean following a disappointing 18-16 season that ended in a NIT first round defeat. The Hoosiers were supposed to host that game, but declined to do so, instead sending their squad to Atlanta, where Georgia Tech beat them 75-63. In declining to host, Athletic Director Fred Glass said he did not want to devalue Assembly Hall by hosting a lowly NIT game. As of today, the only way Crean can devalue Assembly Hall is as a visitor.

Crean burst onto the college hoops scene as coach of a Marquette team featuring Dwyane Wade that made it all the way to the 2003 Final Four. Five years later, he was the head coach of the basketball school in the basketball state. Now that his run is at its end, what's his legacy?

Crean, an unofficial member of the Harbaugh Bros., has an eye for talent, as you can clearly see here:

In the high-stakes game of major conference college basketball, Crean is a calming influence on the sideline:

He's a basketball sponge, unafraid to lap up even the most insignificant morsels of hoops minutiae:

In all of college basketball, there is probably not a coach better at simulating a fart noise, while also accentuating it with hand gestures:

He is a genius at diagramming and calling plays from the bench without telegraphing it to the other side, such as his infamous call for "draw a foul by getting kicked in the nuts" against Michigan State:

His powers of observation and deduction are (were) unrivaled in the Big Ten:

He's great at pretending your kid's Halloween costume is really, really scary:

And sometimes, he makes funny faces:

Best of luck in your future endeavors, Tom.