Not pictured: Tom Crean, puffing cigar and laughing. 

It's been a big off-season for college basketball coaches looking to stack bread and/or cheese. First, UCLA coach Ben Howland got his money. Then Bill Self, avoiding the lure of T. Boone Pickens' money-burning wind turbine technology, won a national title and snatched a huge deal from Kansas.

Now, it's Tom Crean's turn. The coach just officially inked a wow-where-does-Indiana-get-that-money contract extension today, nabbing 10 years and $23.6 million from the beleagured school.

After taking over for the deposed Kelvin Sampson, Crean has been smiley, energetic, and altogether far too enthusiastic to deal with the still-unknown fallout of an ugly recruiting scandal. What's more, Indiana's situation has gradually worsened, as players have defected and poor grades have left others out in the cold. It's been ugly, and Crean is stuck.

But like any shrewd businessman, he used it to his advantage. The contract is a reward for Crean's dedication -- and the likelihood, barring abject failure, that he'll be at Indiana for a very long while. If the past four months don't make him want to quit, nothing will.

Anyway, I want to be a college basketball coach. They officially make more money than rappers.

Related: Big Ten Basketball