The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Even retired, Cremins still crazy about March Madness
Former Tech coach recalls career, cherishes NCAA Tournament’s opportunity for underdog.
HILTON HEAD, S.C. — The siren song of a bouncing basketball led Bobby Cremins all over the South. Cremins crisscrossed both Carolinas during his hoops journey. He played basketball under Frank McGuire at the University of South Carolina in the late 1960s. He left for North Carolina to become the head coach at Appalachian State at age 27. At the end of his career, he coached at the College of Charleston.
Cremins made his greatest mark nationally in between those two jobs. Cremins coached Georgia Tech from 1981 to 2000 while earning multiple ACC championships, winning three ACC Coach of the Year honors and directing Tech all the way to the Final Four in 1990.
After 31 years as a college basketball head coach, Cremins now lives in Hilton Head, S.C., not far from the beach, with his wife, Carolyn. At age 76, he’s as charming as ever and surrounded by memorabilia from his career. His pickleball paddles are stowed by the front door. He remains a huge fan of the “March Madness” NCAA Tournament and claims he will fight anyone who ever tries to mess with basketball’s greatest month.
“If somebody threatens to take away March Madness, I’m going to go after them,” Cremins said during our interview, his voice rising. “I’m going to publicly speak out against that person. I don’t want to hear about it. March Madness is what makes our game. There’s nothing like it — to give the underdog an opportunity to compete with the big guys.”
Below, Cremins looks back at his path to Georgia Tech and beyond, edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: How’d you end up at South Carolina playing basketball?
Cremins: All Hallows was tough academically and I was a little bit over my head. I had some academic issues and actually had to repeat one grade. So when my senior year came, my eligibility was up. I then went to Frederick Military Academy in Portsmouth, Va., a prep school.
And it was really crazy. We had an afternoon game in Maryland, and South Carolina was playing the University of Maryland that Friday night. Coach Frank McGuire was in his hotel room. And there was a prospect at the school we were playing against, so Coach decided to go over there with a friend and watch a little bit of the game to kill time. So he saw me play by accident.
After the game, he came up to me, and one thing led to another.
Q: Was it a culture shock, from New York to South Carolina in the mid-1960s?
A: Not a culture shock — a home run! I couldn’t get over how well I was treated. I couldn’t get over coach McGuire and how great he was and how important basketball was. We had a fieldhouse and it was packed. I had no idea about anything about the South. But I loved everything about it.
Now I couldn’t talk real well. So they gave me a nickname: Cakes ... everybody thought that I talked like I had cake in my mouth.
Q: In 1975, you got the Appalachian State head coaching job at 27, after serving as an assistant under McGuire at South Carolina.
A: Boone? Now that was a culture shock. Columbia was great. The weather in the South was great. But I didn’t know that Boone was the North Pole of the South. I mean, I froze.
It was beautiful in the spring and summer, but I couldn’t get a lot of North Carolina kids to go there. So I went to New York, got a scout to help me, and we just started picking out kids. And I brought back about five New Yorkers to Boone. And those kids, mostly those New Yorkers, won a Southern Conference championship for me.
Q: You wanted to get back into the ACC after your success at Appalachian State, right?
A: Yes, I started getting a little ambitious. I still had something that bothered me; the loss to N.C. State in the 1970 ACC Tournament. I figured I could get some redemption here by going back into the ACC as a coach and winning an ACC championship as a coach that I lost as a player.
And so two jobs opened up (in 1980) — Duke and N.C. State. So I called both schools.
At N.C. State, the athletic director, Willis Casey, was very nice. But he said: “We got a guy. And he actually is a New Yorker . ... Jimmy Valvano.”
And I said, “Well, he’s pretty good.”
Then I called Tom Butters at Duke. Yeah. And he said, “Yeah, Bobby, I’ve heard about you, but we got our coach.” And I said, “Who’d you get?”
He said, “We’re gonna get Mike Krzyzewski.”
I said, “The guy from Army with a losing record? Mr. Butters, that has to be the worst decision you ever made.” (Laughs.)
Q: And then you got the Georgia Tech job one year later, at a time where Georgia Tech was the worst team in the ACC.
A: Yeah. Nobody really wanted the job. But when I looked at Georgia Tech all I saw was: ACC. ACC. ACC! A chance to get back at all those guys.
Q: You joined a legendary group of coaches.
A: Absolutely. Coach Dean Smith (at UNC) was on top and he was in the league by himself. And everybody was after him. The second group was coach Lefty Driesell (Maryland), coach Terry Holland (Virginia) and coach Carl Tacy (Wake Forest).
They didn’t like coach Smith, or they didn’t like him being on top. And then there were the young guys. They called us the young guns. And that was Jimmy, Mike and myself . ... We all became close. I saw Jimmy V win a national championship (in 1983). That’s what happened first. Those two were doing unbelievable things, and I had to catch up a little bit.
Q: Why were you able to turn Georgia Tech around?
A: I was a bit crazy. I always say Jimmy Valvano — he’d go about 120 miles an hour. I’d go about 100 miles an hour. Coach K? He stayed at the speed limit. He was more balanced than we were. And I had a great staff . ... We hit the recruiting road hard. George Felton found a point guard from Enid, Oklahoma. George said the point guard was 5-11 and white. I said, “You gotta be kidding.”
But he convinced me, and that was Mark Price. And then my New York roots helped us get John Salley. Price and Salley were the first ones, and then we got a lot of other great players (including Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury and Dennis Scott.) What made me was my players.
Q: What’s the biggest regret of your career?
A: I had my midlife crisis (in 1993) where I left Georgia Tech for two days to go back to South Carolina. That was rough. Really rough. I had said no to South Carolina. But I had a deep love for them.
After I said no to (South Carolina Athletic Director) Mike McGee, a week went by, and then I changed my mind. I called Mike McGee and said, “I’ll come.”
We had lost in the first round (of the NCAA Tournament), and it was really one of the worst decisions of my life. It had nothing to do with my alma mater and had everything to do with me. And I knew it was not right. But I did it.
Of course, the people in South Carolina and Columbia, they went crazy, which I really appreciated. But once I got there, I realized I made a mistake.
I felt like Judas. I was just in a bad place . ... Obviously a lot of people were upset at me, and rightfully so. (Cremins quickly went back to Georgia Tech).
It was the roughest time in my life. I took a month off. I had to go see a shrink. Went down to Florida. Got away. Had to get on medication. A lot of people thought I was done. I knew I was not done. I just needed time. And what really helped me the first part of recovery was seeing South Carolina get such a great coach by the name of Eddie Fogler. That was the start of my recovery.
Q: You left Georgia Tech in 2000, took time off, got into broadcasting and then eventually returned to coaching in 2006, taking over at College of Charleston for your final six seasons.
A: I came down to Hilton Head then, with just the intention of one or two years. But one year led to six. And then College of Charleston let go of their coach late . ...
The Charleston job was great. I loved it. I got a little sick at the end of my career. My body turned on me. Those tough losses — they eat at you. We lost in the (tournament final) three times, once to Bobby McKillop and a kid by the name of Steph Curry.
So eventually I came back to Hilton Head. And I’ve had a great life. People ask me about wins, losses, awards, halls of fame: I don’t care.
I mean all that stuff is nice. But I feel like my biggest achievement is fulfilling my parents’ dream, of having their child live the American dream.