Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Head Coach Bobby Cremins

1998-99 Roster Season Outlook Head Coach 1997-98 Results 1997-98 Statistics

One of the most recognizable basketball coaches in the college game, Georgia Tech's Bobby Cremins, almost inconceivably, is embarking upon his 24th season as a head coach and his 18th at the helm of the Rambling Wreck.

Inconceivable because it is hard to believe it really has been 18 years since the silver-haired Cremins came to Atlanta to resurrect a program many thought to be unrecoverable.

Since taking over the challenge of molding the Yellow Jackets in his own fiery image beginning with the 1981-82 season, Cremins has faced a great many challenges and, in turn, has garnered a great many honors.

Last season, Cremins faced what he termed his biggest challenge since that first season, rebuilding the Yellow Jackets following their first losing season in the last 14. He did so by doing what he has done so well over his tenure on the Flats-recruit top talent and develop their abilities to the fullest. He lured a recruiting class that produced two ACC all-Freshman honorees in Dion Glover and Alvin Jones.

With those three freshmen in the starting lineup along with senior stalwarts Matt Harpring and Michael Maddox, Cremins guided the Rambling Wreck to its 13th postseason appearance in the last 15 years as the Jackets reached the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. Despite being picked to finish last in the Atlantic Coast Conference by most preseason prognosticators, Tech won 19 games and placed sixth in the nation's toughest conference.

Assistant Coach for Olympic Dream Team

Cremins thrust Georgia Tech into the national picture with a long line of great players, beginning with Mark Price and John Salley, continuing with Duane Ferrell, Tom Hammonds, Dennis Scott, Brian Oliver and Kenny Anderson. The latter three pushed Tech to the Final Four in 1990, and all went on to play in the NBA.

Two seasons ago, after a two-year absence from the NCAA Tournament, Cremins guided an extremely young team back to the promised land of the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Sweet 16 while playing the toughest schedule in the nation according to the RPI rankings. That team was led by another stellar freshman, Stephon Marbury, who moved to the NBA after one season.

In doing so, Cremins was named Atlantic Coast Conference "Coach of the Year" for the third time in his career as Tech posted a 24-12 record and captured the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title with a school-record 13-3 ACC mark and came within a whisker of Tech's fourth ACC Tournament championship.

Along the way, the 51-year-old native of the Bronx, N.Y., became Tech's all-time winningest coach, currently sporting a 326-204 record (.615) at Tech and an overall 426-274 (.609) mark. Among active Division I head coaches, Cremins ranked 33rd in career victories entering the 1997-98 season.

In the summer of 1996, Cremins added to his already impressive coaching resume by serving as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team that earned a gold medal in Atlanta at the Centennial Olympic Games. Cremins, who was joined on Lenny Wilkens' staff by Clem Haskins of the University of Minnesota and Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz, was chosen for his "Dream Team III" assignment in part because of his previous experience with USA Basketball.

In 1986 he assisted Arizona's Lute Olsen in coaching the United States 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 Games Championships.

Thirteen Post-Season Appearances in 17 Seasons

Cremins has guided Tech to 14 winning seasons and 13 postseason invitations during his 17 years on the Flats. Among the many miracles he has helped to bring about are three ACC tournament titles, one ACC regular-season title and a share of another, a Final Four appearance, and four recent victories over teams ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Not the least of his accomplishments is the mere fact that the Rambling Wreck is regarded, year in and year out, as one of the nation's elite collegiate basketball programs.

It's hard to imagine Georgia Tech basketball before Cremins lifted the program from a 4-23 record to perennial national prominence.

Tech has had a long and strong basketball tradition, particularly during the tenure of John "Whack" Hyder, but in the Institute's entire history, only 11 of its teams have been invited to the NCAA Tournament. Cremins has coached 10 of them, five of those into the Sweet 16.

In 13 of the last 15 seasons under Cremins, the Jackets have found themselves in either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT, and Tech actually received an additional NIT invitation in 1995 but declined. He has coached seven of the 10 Tech teams that have won 20 or more games.

Cremins' three ACC championships are equalled by only one current league head coach-Duke's Mike Krzyzewski-and are surpassed by only three coaches in ACC history. Tech's string of nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances was the nation's fourth-longest active streak when it ended in 1994.

Under Cremins, Tech has had seven all-Americas, 23 all-ACC players and eight ACC "Rookie of the Year" honorees. In 1990-91, point guard Kenny Anderson became only the second consensus first-team all-America in Tech history along with Roger Kaiser in 1961.

Twelve of Cremins' former players were active in the National Basketball Association in 1997-98, and 10 Yellow Jackets have been first-round draft choices, including Matt Harpring, who was taken 15th overall by the Orlando Magic in the 1998 NBA draft. Cremins' other first-rounders include active players Anderson (by New Jersey in 1991, now with Boston), Dennis Scott (by Orlando in 1990, now with Phoenix), John Salley (by Detroit in 1986), Tom Hammonds (by Washington in 1989, now with Minnesota), Jon Barry (by Boston in 1992, now with the Los Angeles Lakers), Travis Best (by Indiana in 1994), and Stephon Marbury, who was drafted fourth overall in 1996 by Milwaukee and then traded to Minnesota.

The Jackets, who had the second-longest streak of No. 1 draft picks in history with five from 1989-93, also boasted Duane Ferrell (Golden State), Matt Geiger (Charlotte), Mark Price (Orlando), Ivano Newbill (Vancouver), Drew Barry (Atlanta) and Brian Oliver (Atlanta) in the NBA in 1997-98. Price and Anderson both have been named to the NBA All-Star Team.

Cremins has been chosen by his peers-the Division I head coaches-as the top recruiter in the nation, a reputation cemented by the fact that he has signed three players tabbed by recruiting services as No. 1 in their respective classes in Dennis Scott (1987), Kenny Anderson (1989) and Stephon Marbury (1995).

Because of the standard of success and excellence of his teams, Cremins is expected to yearly produce Top 20 teams that contend for the national championship. Pretty heady stuff for both Tech and the former South Carolina standout.

Guides Tech to Final Four With "Lethal Weapon 3"

Tech's 1989-90 team solidified Cremins' reputation as one of America's best coaches as the Jackets compiled a 28-7 record, the most wins in school history, en route to the school's first NCAA Final Four. For his efforts that season, Cremins was named as the national "Coach of the Year" by the Naismith Awards program. It marked the second time in his 23-year career that Cremins had won national coaching honors.

Tech also finished the year with its highest national ranking ever, third in the USA Today/CNN poll and second in The Sporting News poll after losing to eventual champion UNLV in the national semifinals.

That Yellow Jacket edition, led by the "Lethal Weapon 3" combination of Brian Oliver, Dennis Scott and Kenny Anderson, stuck another feather in their cap by opening the new decade as ACC champions. Returning to the same city-Charlotte, N.C.-where he had been a senior starter for South Carolina in the 1970 ACC title game, Cremins directed the Jackets to wins over N.C. State, Duke and Virginia to win the second league crown in school history.

From Winless ACC Season To 1985 Conference Crown

Cremins' accomplishments, achieved in such a short span of time, appear not quite possible at first glance. He assumed the head coaching position at Georgia Tech on April 14, 1981, following a disastrous 4-23 record, winless in the ACC, and amidst the prevailing belief that the Rambling Wreck could never compete on an equal footing with its ACC brethren.

But it took Cremins less than 48 months to guide Tech to the championship of the Atlantic Coast Conference and a berth in the Final Eight in the 1985 NCAA Tournament.

The white-haired Cremins has accomplished far more than just creating a winning basketball program from one that had become moribund. He has turned the city of Atlanta, the state of Georgia and the entire region onto college basketball and particularly to his Rambling Wreck club.

His Tech teams immediately demonstrated the enthusiasm and intensity with which he coaches, and by his third season, the Yellow Jackets were headed for postseason play.

Tech's 1984 squad recorded the first winning record in five years-an 18-11 mark-and earned a berth in the National Invitation Tournament, which at the time was only the school's fourth postseason invitation.

He first burst onto the national scene in 1985, guiding Tech in a spectacular campaign in which the Yellow Jackets shattered records, tradition and precedent.

That year, Tech captured its first ACC Tournament championship and a share of first place in the regular season while recording the most wins (27-8) in school history. Never before in the ACC had a non-North Carolina team won both the regular season title and the tournament championship.

All throughout, Tech played to frenzied crowds in both The Omni and Alexander Memorial Coliseum as Cremins won acclaim from friend and foe alike.

Jinx after jinx fell before the Yellow Jackets in 1985 and '86, as Tech recorded wins at every city in the Atlantic Coast Conference in which it had never won before. In 1985 and '86, Tech received one of the top eight national seedings in the NCAA Tournament, seeded second in the East Regional behind Georgetown in 1985 and second in the Southeast behind Kentucky in 1986.

In 1985, Cremins was named ACC "Coach of the Year" by both the Atlantic Coast Sportswriters Association and the Associated Press. He was named National "Coach of the Year" by at least one publication-Basketball Times-and also by CBS-TV/Chevrolet and by Al McGuire's NBC-TV special. The conference "Coach of the Year" citations were his fifth in 10 years as a head coach. He was previously honored as the top coach in his conference in 1983 by the ACC and three times while in the Southern Conference at Appalachian State.

One year later, he guided Tech to its best start ever (15-1), its best regular season record ever (23-5), another Top 10 regular season finish (6th), its highest win total at the time (27), tying the total set by the 1985 club, and its most ACC wins (11). Cremins took the Jackets to a berth in their second straight NCAA Tournament - a first in school history - and a spot in the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second straight year. The Jackets accomplished all of this while facing the nation's second toughest schedule according to the Sagarin Index.

Rated in the preseason as the nation's No. 1 team, the Yellow Jackets spent the entire season ranked among the nation's Top 10, posting 24 consecutive weeks with America's basketball elite, finishing sixth according to AP, UPI and USA Today.

Known as One of the Nation's Top Recruiters

Nationally known as a recruiter, Cremins was originally selected as one of the top 10 college recruiters by Sport magazine in 1984. He added the No. 1 citation by the nation's coaches in 1989. His 1989 recruiting class of Kenny Anderson, Malcolm Mackey, Darryl Barnes and Ivano Newbill was rated as the nation's best including three Parade all-Americas (Anderson, Mackey, Barnes) and the Georgia prep "Player of the Year" (Newbill). Three times over the past 10 years, Cremins has signed the winner of the Naismith Award, signifying the nation's top high school player, in Dennis Scott (1987), Kenny Anderson (1989) and Stephon Marbury (1995).

Eight of his recruits, Mark Price in 1983, Bruce Dalrymple in 1984, Duane Ferrell in 1985, Tom Hammonds in 1986, Dennis Scott in 1988, Kenny Anderson in 1990, Martice Moore in 1993 and Stephon Marbury in 1996, earned "ACC Rookie of the Year" awards, more than any school in the league. Tech's string of four consecutive Rookie award-winners was also a first in the ACC.

Among those who have paid close attention to Cremins' abilities as a motivator and teacher of young basketball talent is the National Basketball Association. Ten Tech players have been selected in the first round of the NBA Draft since 1983, six others have gone in the second round, and three more who were signed as free agents played at least one full season with an NBA club.

Although an excellent bench tactician and recruiter, Cremins' greatest strength is his relationship with his players. He regards them as members of his own family, much more than just student-athletes. Cremins is genuinely concerned with their overall development in line with Georgia Tech's "Total Person Concept," and he maintains his relationships with his players long after they leave the Institute.

Youngest Division I Head Coach at Appalachian State

A former basketball standout at South Carolina for the legendary Frank McGuire, Cremins knows first-hand what it takes to win in the pressure-packed ACC. He is one of only two current conference coaches to have played and coached in an ACC championship final.

A three-year starter for USC at point guard, Cremins led the Gamecocks to one of their most successful seasons. USC was 15-7 during his sophomore year, 21-7 in his junior campaign (1968-69) and 25-3 (14-0 in ACC) during his senior season (1969-70).

After graduating from USC, 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 to McGuire 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 graduated from South Carolina in 1970 with a B.S. degree in Marketing. He received the M.S. degree in Guidance and Counseling in 1972, also from USC.

He and his wife Carolyn have three children: Liz, Suzie, and Bobby, III.

   Year     School             Record   Conf.   Post-Season   
   1975-76  Appalachian State  13-14    6-6/5th    --   
   1976-77  Appalachian State  17-12    8-4/3rd    --   
   1977-78  Appalachian State  15-13    9-3/1st    --   
   1978-79  Appalachian State  23-6     11-3/1st   SC Champs, NCAA   
   1979-80  Appalachian State  12-16    6-10/T6th  --   
   1980-81  Appalachian State  20-9     11-5/T1st  --   
   1981-82  Georgia Tech       10-1     63-11/8th  --   
   1982-83  Georgia Tech       13-15    4-10/6th   --   
   1983-84  Georgia Tech       18-11    6-8/T5th   NIT   
   1984-85  Georgia Tech       27-8     9-5/T1st   ACC Champs; NCAA Final 8   
   1985-86  Georgia Tech       27-7     11-3/2nd   NCAA Sweet 16   
   1986-87  Georgia Tech       16-13    7-7/5th    NCAA   
   1987-88  Georgia Tech       22-10    8-6/4th    NCAA Final 32   
   1988-89  Georgia Tech       20-12    8-6/5th    NCAA   
   1989-90  Georgia Tech       28-7     8-6/T3rd   ACC Champs; NCAA Final Four   
   1990-91  Georgia Tech       17-13    6-8/T5th   NCAA Final 32   
   1991-92  Georgia Tech       23-12    8-8/T4th   NCAA Sweet 16   
   1992-93  Georgia Tech       19-11    8-8/6th    ACC Champion; NCAA   
   1993-94  Georgia Tech       16-13    7-9/6th    NIT   
   1994-95  Georgia Tech       18-12    8-8/5th    --   
   1995-96  Georgia Tech       24-12    13-3/1st   NCAA Sweet 16   
   1996-97  Georgia Tech       9-18     3-13/9th   --   
   1997-98  Georgia Tech       19-14    6-10/6th   NIT Quarterfinals
    
   Overall Record: 426-274 (.609), 23 years   
   Record at Tech: 326-204 (.615), 17 years   

Cremins File

Full Name: Robert Joseph Cremins, Jr.
Born: July 4, 1947 in the Bronx, N.Y.
Education: All Hallows High School, Bronx, N.Y.; University of South Carolina (B.S. Marketing, 1970; M.S. Guidance and Counseling, 1972)
Playing Experience: Three-time starter at point guard at South Carolina (1968-70). One year of professional basketball in Ecuador (1970-71)
College Coaching: Point Park College, Pittsburgh, Pa., Assistant Coach, one year (1971-72); South Carolina, Assistant Coach, two years (1972-74); Appalachian State, Head Coach, six years (1975-81); Georgia Tech, Head Coach, 17 years (1981-Present)
Joined Tech Staff: April 14, 1981

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