Cremins returns to South Carolina 13 years after jilting Gamecocks

Posted 6:17PM on Monday 4th December 2006 ( 18 years ago )

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Soon after Bobby Cremins took the job at the College of Charleston this summer, he called his close friend, South Carolina coach Dave Odom. After exchanging good wishes, Cremins, the former Gamecock standout who accepted the basketball job with his alma mater 1993 before reneging and returning to Georgia Tech, got to his concern the Cougars (3-5) planned game at South Carolina. ``Do you think that's good?'' Cremins asked. Cremins finds out Tuesday night when he coaches against the Gamecocks (4-2) for the first time since his famous flip-flop. ``Some of those people still have ill feelings towards me,'' Cremins said. ``And I totally understand it because I made a mistake going there in the first place.'' So many years later, Cremins wondered about the reception he'd get from fans who had cheered his point guard play in the late 1960s and turned out to welcome him back as coach 13 years ago. ``Bobby,'' Odom counseled him, ``people love you, they do. ... I know Gamecock people, they love their own.'' Odom offered Cremins the chance to delay the game a year or two. But after talking with Charleston administrators and his wife, Carolyn, Cremins agreed to the return. ``I think you're right. I think it's going to be OK,'' Cremins told Odom. Things were far from OK for Cremins in 1993. The Gamecocks were in turmoil, the basketball team hit with NCAA sanctions during the two-year tenure of Steve Newton. Coach Frank McGuire, who lured Cremins out of the Bronx, was in the final years of his life after a stroke and Cremins felt a deep loyalty to restore the program to the NCAA tournament luster McGuire brought in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Cremins was a tough point guard from 1968-70. He finished with 589 points. His final team in 1970 was 25-3 and a perfect 14-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. However, the Gamecocks lost a memorable, double overtime game to North Carolina State, 42-39, that prevented them from going to the NCAA tournament. A few years later, Cremins coaching career began as McGuire's assistant before finding ACC success at Georgia Tech. So when Cremins agreed to lead his old school, it touched off a celebration among South Carolina supporters. Cremins quickly realized he'd made a mistake. ``Hey, it was my fault,'' Cremins said. ``Thank God, I had the guts to do what I did.'' Not that it was easy. Cremins went underground for a while. He needed a psychiatrist's help and antidepressants to get himself back on course. ``That period almost killed me. It almost ruined my life,'' he said. Cremins said he got a measure of comfort when Eddie Fogler succeeded him with the Gamecocks. ``That helped because I knew it was in good hands,'' Cremins said. Cremins remained with Georgia Tech through the 1999-2000 season. Two years later, Fogler resigned as Gamecocks coach and Cremins lobbied for the job that Odom eventually got. When Odom learned that Cremins was interested, he called his friend and offered to step aside. Cremins told him, ``David, that is not going to happen. You go for the job. I want you to have it.'' Cremins finally returned to coaching at Charleston after six years away. This time Cremins was the recipient of a Cremins-esque flip-flop, getting the Cougars job after Gregg Marshall accepted the Charleston spot before reversing himself and going back to his old Winthrop position a day later. Cremins has been focused on getting the Cougars straightened out. Charleston has lost its past three games, including an 84-80 overtime loss to local rival Charleston Southern and the team's Southern Conference opener to Appalachian State, the school where Cremins began his coaching career. Cremins has been to back to campus and South Carolina games since his reversal. Odom expects South Carolina fans to give Cremins the warm welcome deserving of a former Gamecock captain. ``If they only knew how loyal (Cremins) has been to this school,'' Odom said. ``He's done everything he could to remain a Gamecock, except coach us. That's not wrong.''

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/12/99307