Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 28, 1993 TAG: 9303280101
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Medium
In a move that was bizarre even by his standards, Cremins announced Saturday that he was returning to Georgia Tech as the head basketball coach. On Wednesday, Cremins resigned from that job at Georgia Tech to accept the head coaching position at South Carolina, his alma mater.
Wednesday, Cremins said he wasn't leaving Georgia Tech; he was retiring from Georgia Tech. Saturday, he came out of retirement and left South Carolina wondering who would be its fourth head basketball coach in the past five years.
"I made a mistake, and this is the most embarrassing moment of my life," Cremins said in a handwritten statement delivered Saturday morning to his agent in Atlanta, Richard Howell. "The South Carolina reception and press conference was beyond belief. But during the next 48 hours, all I could think about were my Tech players and the Tech program. I felt I had broken my promise and deserted them. Everything I preached to them about, I went against."
His feelings for the school where he played from 1967 to 1970, his college teammates and his college coach, Frank McGuire, were cited as reasons for his departure when Cremins appeared at a homecoming news conference in Columbia, S.C., on Wednesday.
On Saturday, he promised that his name never again would be associated with any coaching vacancy. Cremins, 45, says he hopes his 12 seasons at Georgia Tech grow into a retirement in Atlanta.
"South Carolina will be my last job consideration, and I hope to end my career at Georgia Tech," Cremins' statement said. "Words cannot truly express my feelings at this time."
Cremins called Howell on Thursday to let him know he was having second thoughts about taking the South Carolina job.
"I told him it was just the first day, and that it would be OK," Howell said. "But then on Friday, he had reached the point where he didn't want to wait. I was shocked. I didn't try to tell him what to do. He made the decision."
At 2 a.m. Friday, Cremins called Georgia Tech athletic director Homer Rice and told him that he had made a mistake by leaving Georgia Tech. Cremins asked Rice if he could come back, and Rice told him that he was welcome to return, if South Carolina agreed.
At 10 a.m. Friday, Cremins met with South Carolina athletic director Mike McGee to tell him of his intentions. Cremins had slept little during the previous 48 hours and, McGee said, was "distraught."
"I promised to be at Tech through their [his players'] careers and again, I just couldn't get it out of my mind," Cremins' statement said. "I couldn't do my work and I couldn't sleep. The embarrassment I caused Dr. John Palms [South Carolina president], Mike McGee, Coach McGuire, the South Carolina players and fans and my South Carolina friends will live with me forever."
Mike Finn, Georgia Tech's associate athletic director for communications, said Cremins had neither signed a contract with South Carolina nor given the school a binding verbal commitment. Howell said he and South Carolina were having difficulty working out terms.
McGee told Cremins he was free to return to Georgia Tech but asked the coach to sleep on the decision Friday night. McGee said he knew Cremins had talked with Georgia Tech several times; however, he said Rice never called South Carolina's athletic department.
"He had agreed to become our coach, and I received no contact from Georgia Tech for permission to communicate with him," McGee said.
Cremins' wife, Carolyn, drove to Columbia from Atlanta and picked up her husband shortly after his meeting with McGee. They returned to the family's home while he made his decision.
Saturday morning, Cremins released the statement through Howell at Robinson-Humphrey Sports Enterprises.
Rice, vacationing at his winter home on Marco Island, Fla., responded on Saturday to Cremins' return.
"We're happy Bobby is staying at Georgia Tech," Rice said.
by CNB