At 2 o’clock this afternoon, the College of Charleston will announce former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins will take over as head coach for the College of Charleston Cougars. Cremins, who took Tech to the Big Dance 10-times (with a Final Four appearance); won the ACC Championship three times and he took App. State to the Dance once, inked a 6-year contract and will not only help the school’s image and recruitment but will be a hell of a transition coach to help rebuild the program and restore hope for the Maroon faithful.
They’re already talking…
As I mentioned beforehand, Coach Cremins will bring a national exposure to CofC’s program that we’ve not felt before. Dickie V is shouting about the Cougs! South Carolina coach Dave Odom (the Cougars have the Gamecocks on their schedule this year) and Coach K from Duke both remarked in the AP that they were glad to see Cremins return. All I can say is, they’re not the only ones! If you want to watch the Press Conference at 2 pm from Randolph Hall announcing Coach Cremins as the 21st head coach for the College click here.
(Photo compliments of Augustasports)
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Charleston, S.C. – Bobby Cremins, a veteran of 25 seasons as a college basketball head coach and the winningest coach in Georgia Tech history, has been named men’s head basketball coach at the College of Charleston, director of athletics Jerry Baker announced Monday at a 2:00 p.m. press conference at Randolph Hall on the school’s campus.
The Bronx, N.Y. native, who coached six seasons at Appalachian State (1976-81, 100-70) and 19 at Georgia Tech (1982-2000, 354-237), sports a 454-307 (.597) overall career record. He led Appalachian State to one NCAA Tournament berth and Georgia Tech to nine.
Cremins, who hasn’t coached since leaving Georgia Tech after the 1999-00 season, is the 21st head coach in College of Charleston men’s basketball history. In 2003, Georgia Tech officially named the basketball court at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum "Cremins Court".
Cremins, who turns 59-years-old tomorrow, became Georgia Tech’s all-time winningest coach during the 1995-96 season. He was inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame on June 9th and will be inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame on October 6th.
Cremins thrust the Yellow Jackets into the national basketball picture with a long line of great players, beginning with Mark Price and John Salley and continued with Duane Ferrell, Tom Hammonds, Dennis Scott, Brian Oliver, Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury and Matt Harpring.
Cremins guided Tech to 14 winning seasons and 14 postseason berths in his 19 years. He led the Yellow Jackets to three ACC tournament titles, one ACC regular-season title and a share of another, as well as a Final Four appearance in 1989-90.
Not the least of his accomplishments is the fact the Rambling Wreck came to be regarded, year in and year out, as one of the nation’s elite and most well-known collegiate basketball programs after he took over a squad in 1981-82, which went 4-23 the year before.
Under Cremins, Tech had six all-American players, 24 all-ACC players and eight ACC "Rookie of the Year" honorees. In 1990-91, Anderson became only the second consensus first-team all-American in Tech history joining Roger Kaiser from 1961.
A total of 21 of Cremins’ former players went on to play in the National Basketball Association. Jason Colliers’ selection as the 15th pick in the 2000 NBA draft by Milwaukee Bucks marked the 12th of Cremins’ players to be drafted in the first round since 1986. Other first-round picks included Brook Steppe (by Kansas City in 1983), John Salley (by Detroit in 1986), Tom Hammonds (by Washington in 1989), Dennis Scott (by Orlando in 1990), Anderson (by New Jersey in 1991), Jon Barry (by Boston in 1992), Malcolm Mackey (by Phoenix in 1993), Travis Best (by Indiana in 1994), Marbury (Milwaukee in 1996), Matt Harpring (by Orlando in 1998) and Dion Glover (Atlanta in 1999, 20th overall pick).
Cremins’ success and reputation extended beyond the borders of the United States. His assignment in 1996 as an assistant to Atlanta Hawks’ coach Lenny Wilkens on the coaching staff for the USA team in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Games was his third tour of duty for USA Basketball. In 1986, he assisted Arizona’s Lute Olsen in coaching the U.S. World University Games team to its first-ever gold medal. And, during the summer of 1989, he coached a U.S. squad to qualification for the 1990 World Championships.
He is regarded as one of the nation’s best recruiters, cemented by the fact that he signed three players selected by recruiting services as No. 1 in their respective classes in Dennis Scott (1987), Anderson (1989) and Marbury (1995).
Cremins assumed the head coaching position at Georgia Tech on April 14, 1981, with Tech coming off a disastrous 4-23 season, winless in the ACC, and amidst the prevailing belief that the Rambling Wreck could never compete on an equal footing with its ACC brethren. It took Cremins less than 48 months to guide Tech to the championship of the Atlantic Coast Conference and a berth in the Final Eight in the 1985 NCAA Tournament.
He first burst onto the national scene in 1985, when Tech captured its first ACC Tournament championship and a share of first place in the regular season while recording the most wins (27-8) in school history. Tech advanced to the "Elite Eight" of the NCAA Tournament and Cremins earned his second ACC "Coach of the Year" honor. His first came in 1983, his second season at Tech, when the Jackets finished 13-15 and won their first ACC Tournament game.
Tech’s 1989-90 team solidified Cremins’ reputation as one of America’s best coaches as the Jackets compiled a 28-7 record, the most wins in school history, en route to their first NCAA Final Four. For his efforts that season, Cremins was named as the national "Coach of the Year" by the Naismith Awards program. It marked the second time in his career that Cremins won national coaching honors.
Cremins’ third ACC championship in 1993 was an improbable victory as the Yellow Jackets, led by sophomores James Forrest and Travis Best, and freshman Drew Barry, became just the fourth No. 6 seed in league history to capture the ACC Tournament title.
In 1995-96, after a two-year absence from the NCAA Tournament, Cremins guided an extremely young team back to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Sweet 16 while playing the toughest schedule in the nation according to the RPI rankings. That team was led by the stellar freshman Marbury, who moved to the NBA after one season.
Cremins was named Atlantic Coast Conference "Coach of the Year" for the third time in his career as Tech posted a 24-12 record. The Jackets captured the ACC regular-season title with a school-record 13-3 league mark.
Since leaving Georgia Tech, Cremins has toured the country as a motivational speaker, and did television commentary on SoCon, ACC and NCAA basketball games. He works with charities, mainly for Coaches vs. Cancer and the Jimmy V Foundation. Bobby also raises money for a five-to-six week summer program, half of the participants are disadvantaged kids, called Hilton Head Basketball Camp 101.
After graduating from South Carolina in 1970, Cremins spent one year playing professional basketball in Ecuador before beginning his collegiate coaching career at Point Park College in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1971. He returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach in 1972.
After a two-year stint at USC, Cremins, born on July 4, 1947, was chosen to build the Appalachian State program-becoming the youngest Division I head coach in the NCAA at age 27. After a first year mark of 13-14, the Mountaineers posted a five-year record of 87-56, a 60-percent winning mark, while capturing three Southern Conference titles. His 1978-79 team registered a 23-6 mark and an NCAA bid while his 1980-81 squad was 20-9.
Cremins graduated from South Carolina in 1970 with a B.S. degree in Marketing. He received the M.S. degree in Guidance and Counseling in 1972, also from South Carolina. He was a three-year starter at point guard under legendary coach Frank McGuire, leading the Gamecocks to some of their most successful seasons and a 61-17 record.
He and his wife Carolyn have three children: Liz, Suzie, and Bobby, III.
The Cremins File
National Coach of the Year: 1985, 1990
ACC Coach of the Year: 1983, 1985, 1996
YEAR SCHOOL RECORD CONFERENCE POST-SEASON
Years School Overall Record Con. Record/Finish Postseason
1975-76 Appalachian State 13-14 6-6/5th
1976-77 Appalachian State 17-12 8-4/3rd
1977-78 Appalachian State 15-13 9-3/1st
1978-79 Appalachian State 23-6 11-3/1st SoCon Champion, NCAA
1979-80 Appalachian State 12-16 6-10/T6th
1980-81 Appalachian State 20-9 11-5/T1st
1981-82 Georgia Tech 10-16 3-11/8th
1982-83 Georgia Tech 13-15 4-10/6th
1983-84 Georgia Tech 18-11 6-8/T5th NIT
1984-85 Georgia Tech 27-8 9-5/T1st ACC Champions; NCAA Final 8
1985-86 Georgia Tech 27-7 11-3/2nd NCAA Sweet 16
1986-87 Georgia Tech 16-13 7-7/5th NCAA
1987-88 Georgia Tech 22-10 8-6/4th NCAA Final 32
1988-89 Georgia Tech 20-12 8-6/5th NCAA
1989-90 Georgia Tech 28-7 8-6/T3rd ACC Champion, NCAA Final Four
1990-91 Georgia Tech 17-13 6-8/T5th NCAA Final 32
1991-92 Georgia Tech 23-12 8-8/T4th NCAA Sweet 16
1992-93 Georgia Tech 19-11 8-8/6th ACC Champion NCAA
1993-94 Georgia Tech 16-13 7-9/6th NIT
1994-95 Georgia Tech 18-12 8-8/5th
1995-96 Georgia Tech 24-12 13-3/1st NCAA Sweet 16
1996-97 Georgia Tech 9-18 3-13/9th
1997-98 Georgia Tech 19-14 6-10/6th NIT Quarterfinals
1998-99 Georgia Tech 15-16 6-10/T-5th NIT
1999-00 Georgia Tech 13-17 5-11/8th
Record at Appalachian State: 100-70 (.588), 6 years
Record at Georgia Tech: 354-237 (.599), 19 years
Overall Record: 454-307 (.599), 25 years
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