Bobby Cremins renews old acquaintances in Week of Champions cameo

Bobby Cremins said he was “just stopping by.”

Put the 68-year-old coach anywhere near a basketball court, though, and it’s rarely a passive activity. It wasn’t long Wednesday before Cremins was in a familiar spot — center court, organizing drills among dozens of Week of Champions campers far too young to know his heyday on the Georgia Tech sideline.

“Hey, he’s been a head coach. That’s what he does,” said Rodney Monroe, a onetime ACC foe who was happy to step back for a morning. “What a great guy to take some time out and spend some time with the kids.”

Now back on Hilton Head Island for his second retirement, Cremins is well acquainted with the Week of Champions going back to its days under founder Gary Wetherington. He was a late addition to the week’s coaching roster, setting aside a day to come to Hilton Head Island High’s gym.

For campers who wondered who the white-haired coach was, Monroe and Terry Dozier were happy to explain.

“You can Google anyone these days,” said Dozier, a former South Carolina standout and most recently coach at Blythewood’s Westwood High. “So Google this guy. Anywhere you go in the game of basketball, they know who this guy is.”

Cremins remains Georgia Tech’s all-time wins leader, accumulating 354 of them during 19 seasons in a tough ACC. Among the standouts he sent to the NBA included Mark Price, John Salley, Dennis Scott, Kenny Anderson and Stephon Marbury.

He was an assistant with the 1996 U.S. Olympic team that was the second collection of NBA stars to play for Olympic gold. He retired from Georgia Tech in 2000, only to return to the game in 2006 for six seasons at the College of Charleston.

“He’s always been a great guy, always fun to play against,” said Monroe, who went against Cremins two or three times a year when he was playing at N.C. State.

Wednesday, in fact, was something of an unusual reunion for Cremins and his co-coaches. Not only was Monroe an ACC rival, but Cremins went hard after Dozier in recruiting him out of famed Dunbar High in Baltimore.

If only Cremins went as hard after Dozier’s twin brother, Perry. They decided to play college ball together, with USC the consensus choice.

“He was in my home a lot,” Dozier recalled. “Every time I see him, I think maybe I could have made a better decision. He accomplished a lot at Georgia Tech and had a lot of players go to the NBA.”

Monroe, meantime, was part of an N.C. State backcourt with Chris Corchiani that Cremins recalled as being a thorn in his side.

“Rodney kicked my butt a few times. You couldn’t stop him,” the coach said. “They called (the duo) ‘Fire and Ice.’ Rodney was the Ice. He never missed shots — at least the important ones.”

On Wednesday, though, any old differences were set aside to minister — athletically and spiritually — to the next generation.

“Anything we can do to reach the young people,” Dozier said, “is just a blessing.”

This story was originally published June 8, 2016 at 8:58 PM with the headline "Bobby Cremins renews old acquaintances in Week of Champions cameo."