Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 27, 1993 TAG: 9310270166
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
True, Cremins is entering his 13th season as Yellow Jackets' basketball coach, but his tenure hasn't been uninterrupted.
For two days last spring, Cremins was the coach at his alma mater, South Carolina.
"It's a tough business to survive in and last spring the business caught up with me," Cremins told a packed dinner crowd at the Salem Civic Center. "I'm about over my midlife crisis. I'm getting out in public more.
"I always tell my players not to let their emotions and egos get the best of them, but that's exactly what happened to me. It was a mistake. It had nothing to do with South Carolina. I found out my heart and soul were at Georgia Tech and that's where I belong.
"My goal now is to finish my career at Georgia Tech."
Cremins, 46, last year directed the Yellow Jackets to their third ACC championship in nine years and many wondered if he was looking for a new challenge when he got serious with the Gamecocks.
"It was the only school that had offered me a scholarship and I wanted to repay them," Cremins said. "My old coach, Frank McGuire, still lives there and I've always looked as South Carolina as a sleeping giant. I'm grateful to Eddie Fogler because he gave South Carolina something it needed - a big-time coach."
Cremins said he didn't experience any media fallout because he left town after announcing he was returning to Tech.
"I've gotten some incredible letters from South Carolina," Cremins said. "I'm lucky that both parties understood. It was something that I hated to go through. I went over the fine line and was able to come back.
"It's a scar of the business. I learned we live in an imperfect world and, instead of letting the negatives get you down, you've got to deal with and look more at the positive side."
Cremins began his address to a crowd of 235 by recalling his trips to Roanoke as a coach at Appalachian State. His first Southern Conference championship and first trip to the NCAA Tournament resulted from an 86-83 victory over Furman in the 1979 title game at the Roanoke Civic Center.
"It was one of the greatest victories in my coaching career - just a tremendous moment for a school like Appalachian State, which was almost unheard of at the time," Cremins said.
Furman's star player was Jonathan Moore and Cremins related an exchange with ex-basketball official and Sports Club president Dan Wooldridge over a perceived oversight by the referees.
"Jonathan Moore wore a headband," Cremins said, "and I told Dan, `You know that's not a halo he has around his head.' "
After giving his impression of each ACC program, Cremins fielded about 15 questions from the audience on such subjects as academic standards, recruiting, staff limitations and stipends for student-athletes.
"Basketball brings in a tremendous amount of money," Cremins said. "Why not give it back to the athlete? But I don't think we'll ever see [schools] give kids money.
"You can't give it to one sport and not the other. And, with gender equity, you can't give it to men and not women."
Cremins sported the blue blazer and yellow tie that have become his trademark on the Georgia Tech bench and, with preseason practice scheduled to start Saturday, said he felt "rejuvenated."
Short as it was, the midlife crisis served its purpose.
by CNB