CofC's Bobby Cremins Signs Two-Year Extension
8/14/2009 6:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
College of Charleston men's basketball coach Bobby Cremins has signed a two-year contract extension, athletic director Joe Hull announced on Friday. The extension runs through the 2013-14 campaign.
Cremins, who enters his 29th season as a college head coach and his fourth at Charleston, has led the Cougars to a 65-37 overall record and a pair of Southern Conference championship game appearances. Cremins helped Charleston to a 22-11 record in 2006-07, a 16-17 mark in 2007-08 and a 27-9 record in 2008-09.
Charleston capped last season with its second Southern Conference Tournament title game appearance in three years under Cremins. Cremins, who earned his 500th career win in December with a victory over Coastal Carolina, led the Cougars to the second round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
The season included a pair of wins over Davidson and an overtime upset of Cremins' alma mater South Carolina, 82-80. Jermaine Johnson, Tony White, Jr. and Andrew Goudelock all surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for their careers. Goudelock was a unanimous All-SoCon first team selection, while Johnson earned third team honors from the league's media.
"I love it at College of Charleston and I'm excited about the direction of the program," said Cremins. "I really appreciate the support of the College of Charleston and its administration."
"We are thrilled to have Bobby Cremins as our head basketball coach," added Hull. "Bobby is a proven winner, a terrific person and a great fit for the College of Charleston."
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 519-344 (.601) overall career record. He led Appalachian State to one NCAA Tournament berth and Georgia Tech to nine.
Cremins 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 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 9, 2006 and the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame on October 6, 2006.
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, two ACC regular-season titles and a Final Four appearance in 1989-90.
Under Cremins, Tech had six all-American players, 24 all-ACC players and eight ACC "Rookie of the Year" honorees. In 1990-91, Kenny 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), Stephon 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.
After graduating from South Carolina in 1970 with a B.S. degree in Marketing, 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 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.
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The Cremins File
National Coach of the Year: 1985, 1990
ACC Coach of the Year: 1983, 1985, 1996
Year - School (Overall Record/Conference), Post-Season
1975-76 - Appalachian St. (13-14/6-6)
1976-77 - Appalachian St. (17-12/8-4)
1977-78 - Appalachian St. (15-13/9-3)
1978-79 - Appalachian St. (23-6/11-3), SoCon Champions, NCAA
1979-80 - Appalachian St. (12-16/6-10)
1980-81 - Appalachian St. (20-9/11-5)
1981-82 - Ga. Tech (10-16/3-11)
1982-83 - Ga. Tech (13-15/4-10)
1983-84 - Ga. Tech (18-11/6-8), NIT
1984-85 - Ga. Tech (27-8/9-5), ACC Champions, NCAA Elite 8
1985-86 - Ga. Tech (27-7/11-3), NCAA Sweet 16
1986-87 - Ga. Tech (16-13/7-7), NCAA
1987-88 - Ga. Tech (22-10/8-6), NCAA Second Round
1988-89 - Ga. Tech (20-12/8-6), NCAA
1989-90 - Ga. Tech (28-7/8-6), ACC Champions, NCAA Final Four
1990-91 - Ga. Tech (17-13/6-8), NCAA Second Round
1991-92 - Ga. Tech (23-12/8-8), ACC Champions, NCAA
1992-93 - Ga. Tech (19-11/8-8), ACC Champions, NCAA
1993-94 - Ga. Tech (16-13/7-9), NIT
1994-95 - Ga. Tech (18-12/8-8)
1995-96 - Ga. Tech (24-12/13-3), NCAA Sweet 16
1996-97 - Ga. Tech (9-18/3-13)
1997-98 - Ga. Tech (19-14/6-10), NIT Quarterfinals
1998-99 - Ga. Tech (15-16/6-10), NIT
1999-00 - Ga. Tech (13-17/5-11)
2006-07 - Coll. of Charleston (22-11/13-5)
2007-08 - Coll. of Charleston (16-17/9-11)
2008-09 - Coll. of Charleston (27-9/15-5), CBI
Record at Appalachian State: 100-70 (.588), 6 years
Record at Georgia Tech: 354-237 (.599), 19 years
Record at CofC: 65-37 (.637), 3 years
Overall Record: 519-344 (.601), 28 years
