Bobby Cremins looked like his head was on a swivel. His College of Charleston basketball team was about to meet Saturday morning in a hotel conference room to go over the scouting report for the game it would play against George Mason at Patriot Center, and Cremins wanted to make sure everyone had a place to sit.
"Carolyn, take my chair, I'll get another one," he said to his wife, even while someone was grabbing a chair for Carolyn Cremins.
He looked around again and pointed to another chair nearby that Athletic Director Joe Hull could use. He waved a couple more people into the room, looking more like a cruise director than a coach with 537 victories on his coaching résumé before Saturday night's 85-83 win at George Mason. He clearly was completely at home, doing what coaching friends call the "Bobby Cremins thing."
Only Bobby Cremins can do the Bobby Cremins thing. He's done it successfully now for 29 years -- including a six-year break after he left Georgia Tech, where the court is named for him -- in a manner that may be unique in the pantheon of big-time coaches: He's never made an enemy.
Click here for the rest of the column: Bobby Cremins is still doing his thing at College of Charleston
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The following is my ballot for this week's Associated Press Top 25 Poll:
1 Kansas
2 Kentucky
3 Syracuse
4 Purdue
5 Duke
6 Kansas State
7 West Virginia
8 Ohio State
9 Villanova
10 New Mexico
11 BYU
12 Butler
13 Pittsburgh
14 Michigan State
15 Temple
16 Tennessee
17 Northern Iowa
18 Gonzaga
19 Wisconsin
20 Maryland
21 Richmond
22 Vanderbilt
23 Texas
24 UTEP
25 Cornell
7 comments:
You have Texas ranked yes. And yes, I am the fanatical Texas fan you derided at the end of the season.
Did you leave Georgetown off your ballot intentionally? I'm no Hoya fan, but I think they're one of the best 25 in the country.
Do you really not think Georgetown is one of the top 25 teams in the country? A four point loss to a top 5 team and you drop them from 16th to entirely off your ballot?
You are either a) completely clueless about the sport of basketball or b) vindictive to the point of lunacy.
Since we know that you at least know something about hoops, a reasonable person has to assume that it's b - and that your long-held vendetta against Georgetown is still coloring your outlook.
Advice - let all these petty grudges go, John. As you already know, they're not good for your heart. And they just make you look small.
I'm a big Hoosier fan, so going from my gut feelings, I'm glad to see that you kept Purdue at 4. However, as much as I would hate to see them in the top 3, they indeed look that good with some quality wins in the Big 10, 9 in a row if I'm not mistaken. Wondering why you put Syracuse over them...
Also wondering about the Hoyas. But cool down Bernard, it's not the end of the world if Gtown isn't on a writers blog of all things. Geez. They lost to Rutgers and then USF at home, so it's not that crazy. But yeah I would think they'd be in the 20's at least
Great article about Cremins. No one can really talk about him except those who really know him, but he's always seemed like a pretty stand-up guy to me.
John, you really should take some time and make a return trip to the Hoosier State to see Purdue. I'm a Hoosier fan through and through (Went there, currently have a son attending there), but I must tell you that the Boilers are a team that could have a long tournament run if they can keep Johnson out of foul trouble for six games, and maybe even if he does find himself watching for part of a game or two. All are four year kids, and Painter has them playing that hardnosed, intense, Gene Keady style of play... without Gene's atrocious 'do or ill temper. It hurts me to say this, but they are a team I will enjoy watching throughout the tournament; and in a sense, they seem to be flying a bit under the radar. My guess is that Painter would like to see them continue to get better without the pressure of a top ranking; but make no mistake, they will be a force to be dealt with in the Big Dance.
Secondly, I'm really not taking the NCAA's side on anything; but when you mentioned George Mason, it made me wonder how many mid major teams similar to them never got a chance to make their run because of the committee's predisposition to including mediocre majors. I have to think a larger tournament would ultimately showcase more of your Patriot league teams, as well as other smaller schools and conferences. Back in the 80's, if you had cited Bobby Cremins and his South Carolina team's heartbreak as a good reason to bump the tourney from 32 to 64, it would have been easy to say "Nah, every year SOMEBODY is going to be upset." Well, is it really that much different now? The more you take such things out of beaurocrats hands and put them in the hands of kids on the court, the purer the cesspool will become.
Fantastic read on Bobby Cremins. I enjoyed watching those Price, Salley teams and was pulling for them to get to the Final Four. What a commentary that everyone always thinks the world of him. I wish there were more like Cremins and less like Roy Williams in college sports these days.
Too much love for Tennessee. Other than their win over Kansas (months ago) the team has not done much. No excuse for them being ranked ahead of Vandy, which has beaten Tenn. twice. Vandy falls 7 spots despite a tough road win at Ole Miss and a narrow defeat against Kentucky (where Vandy uncharacteristically went cold from 3 point range). Not impressed with MD really either, despite being a fan. No real quality wins, if you ask me. The ACC is mediocre. Perhaps John's ACC bias crept in a little.
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