Bobby Cremins will be in Columbia, S.C., for Georgia Tech’s second-round NIT matchup against South Carolina. The Tech coaching great said Sunday he will probably sit in the Tech section, joined by a couple former Gamecock teammates.
His rooting interest?
“I’ve got to root for my former employer,” he said. “But I’ll try and be as neutral as I can.”
Since his retirement from the College of Charleston in 2012, Cremins has been a visible member of the Tech program, serving as something of an unofficial ambassador for the team at the invitation of coach Brian Gregory. He was at the ACC tournament, as usual, and spoke to the team after its upset win over Notre Dame at McCamish Pavilion. He remains the school record holder for most coaching wins (354).
“I think there’s still some South Carolina blood in him, but It’s way down at his feet now,” Gregory said. “I think the Yellow Jacket blood’s closer to the heart right now.”
Cremins starred for South Carolina, leading the Gamecocks to the regular-season ACC championship in 1969-70. That team went 25-3, setting a school record for wins that this season’s team has tied, albeit in 36 games. After going 14-0 in league play, Cremins’ team lost in double overtime in the ACC tournament finals at a time when only league champions earned bids into the NCAA tournament. It was a devastating loss for Cremins, who called it his first crisis of his life.
Three years later, he got into college coaching at South Carolina as an assistant to Frank McGuire, which led to his first full-time job at Appalachian State, which led to Tech, where he coached 19 seasons. He led the Yellow Jackets to the Final Four, won three ACC tournaments and is in the school’s sports hall of fame.
He was hired as South Carolina’s coach in March 1993, but changed his mind three days later and returned to Tech.
Said Cremins, “I’m still the only undefeated coach South Carolina has ever had.”
When he was at Tech, the Jackets played a two-game series against South Carolina in 1983 and 1984, with the teams splitting.
“Truthfully, I didn’t like it,” Cremins said.
The 1984 meeting was the last between the two teams until Monday. Despite split allegiances, he eagerly anticipated Monday’s game.
“I’ll just be there as a fan,” he said. “When I saw this, I just figured, how many opportunities am I going to get to see a game like this? I said, ‘I’d better go.’”
As of Sunday night, he wasn’t sure what he was going to wear, but he was sure about what he wasn’t going to wear.
“I’ve got to find something very plain,” He said. “I’d better leave my yellow sweater at home or I might get shot.”
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