Cremins to Retire As Tech Basketball Coach
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Inside The Forum on E-Commerce . Page 2 Leap Year 2001 Federal Budget. Page 3 (1.1ssifieds .... Page 4 WHISTLE The Georgia Institute of Technology Faculty/Staff Newspaper Volume 24. No. 7 February 21, 2000 Cremins to retire as Tech basketball coach ongtime Georgia Tech head basketball coach Bobby helped to bring about are three ACC tournament titles, one Cremins announced his retirement from college coaching ACC regular-season title and a share of another, a Final Four LFriday afternoon, signaling an end to the most successful appearance, and four recent victories over teams ranked No. 1 era in Georgia Tech basketball history. in the nation. Cremins, in his 19th season at Tech and his 25th as a head Not the least of his accomplishments is the mere fact that the coach, will step down at the end of the 1999-2000 season, in Ramblin' Wreck came to be regarded, year in and year out, as which the Jackets currently have a record of 11-13 overall and one of the nation's elite and most well known collegiate basket- 3-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Georgia Tech ball programs after taking over a squad in 1981-82 that went 4- Athletic Association decided 23 the year before. Wednesday to buy out the remain- In the Institute's entire history, only 11 of its teams have ing three years of Cremins' con- been invited to the NCAA Tournament. Cremins coached 10 of tract, which would have carried them, five of them into the Sweet 16. through the 2002-2003 season. In 14 of the last 17 seasons under Cremins, the Jackets found Cremins thrust Georgia Tech into themselves in either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT, and the national basketball picture with Tech actually received an additional NIT invitation in 1995 but a long line of great players, begin- declined. He has coached seven of the 10 Tech teams that have ning with Mark Price and John won 20 or more games. Salley in the early 1980s, and con- Cremins' three ACC championships are surpassed by only tinued with Duane Ferrell, Tom four coaches in ACC history and only by Duke's Mike Hammonds, Dennis Scott, Brian Krzyzewski among current head coaches. Tech's string of nine Oliver, Kenny Anderson, Stephon consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances was the nation's Marbury and Matt Harpring. fourth-longest active streak when it ended in 1994. Along the way, the 52-year-old Under Cremins, Tech had six all-Americans, 23 all-ACC native of the Bronx, N.Y., became players and eight ACC "Rookie of the Year" honorees. Twenty the Ramblin' Wreck's all-time win- of Cremins' former players have gone on to play in the ningest coach during the 1995-96 National Basketball Association. Dion Glover's selection as the season. His record at Georgia Tech 20th pick in the 1999 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks marked currently is 352-233 (.602), and he the 11th of Cremins' players to be drafted in the first round moved into third place among all since 1986. ACC coaches in victories earlier Cremins' success and reputation extended beyond the bor- this season when the Yellow Jackets ders of the United States. His assignment in 1996 as an assis- Bobby Cremins will retire after 19 sea- defeated Florida State on Jan. 19. tant to Atlanta Hawks' coach Lenny Wilkens on the coaching sons with the Yellow Jackets. A lengthy His overall mark is 452-303 (.599) staff for the USA team in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Games list of career highlights includes Naismith in 24-plus seasons as a head coach. was his third tour of duty for USA Basketball. In 1986 he National Coach of the Year in 1990 and "Bobby Cremins is synonymous assisted Arizona's Lute Olsen in coaching the U.S. World ACC Coach of the Year in 1983,1985 and with Georgia Tech basketball," said University Games team to its first-ever gold medal. And, during 1996. Tech Director of Athletics Dave the summer of 1989, he coached a U.S. squad to qualification Braine. "If it weren't for the suc- for the 1990 World Championships. cess of our basketball program from the mid 1980s through the He was always regarded as one of the nation's best early 1990s, it would have been hard to keep our athletics pro- recruiters, cemented by the fact that he has signed three players gram afloat. tabbed by recruiting services at No. 1 in their respective classes "But Bobby has made this decision and feels it is time to in Dennis Scott (1987), Kenny Anderson (1989) and Stephon make this change," Braine said. "We're very appreciative of Marbury (1995). Bobby's 19 years of service and dedication to Georgia Tech. Cremins assumed the head coaching position at Georgia People across the country are going to miss seeing the famous Tech in April 1981, with Tech coming off a disastrous 4-23 sea- man with the silver hair moving about our sideline during bas- son, winless in the ACC, and amidst the prevailing belief that ketball season, as will we. Everybody knows Bobby Cremins. the Ramblin' Wreck could never compete on an equal footing Nobody will ever truly take his place." with its ACC brethren. President G. Wayne Clough has appointed a search commit- But it took Cremins less than 48 months to guide Tech to the tee to find a new head basketball coach. The search will begin championship of the Atlantic Coast Conference and a berth in immediately, Braine said, "but we will have no other announce- the Final Eight in the 1985 NCAA Tournament. ment until a new head coach has been hired." Cremins graduated from South Carolina in 1970 with a B.S. Said Clough, "Bobby Cremins has been the embodiment of degree in Marketing. He received the M.S. degree in Guidance Georgia Tech basketball to fans and followers across the nation. and Counseling in 1972, also from USC. He was a three-year When he accepted the job from then Athletics Director Homer starter at point guard, leading the Gamecocks to some of their Rice in 1983, he took on the challenge of leading a lowly most successful seasons and a 61-17 record in three seasons. Georgia Tech basketball program into the nation's top basket- He and his wife Carolyn have three children: Liz, Suzie and ball conference. Nobody expected much, but he showed we Bobby III. could win, win big and win with class. For more information, see www.news-info.gatech.edu or "He will go down in Tech history as one of the greatest www.ramblingwreck.com. coaches ever to jump up and down on the sidelines of the Coliseum," Clough said. "He will also go down in ACC histo- ry, along with Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski and Frank McGuire. That's pretty impressive company." Cremins has guided Tech to 14 winning seasons and 14 post- season berths in his 19 years. Among the many miracles he has 113 February 21, 2000 Transportation key to e-commerce Victor Rogers can't set parameters around it," said Frank Taylor, executive Institute Communications and Public Affairs director of Material Planning and Logistics for Ford Automotive Operations, "but it will touch every aspect of the eb sites with splashy graphics and extensive prod- business." uct lines may dazzle online shoppers, but electronic Mark Rhoney, president of UPS e-Ventures, said he commerce must be supported by a reliable product expects profound changes. "None of us really [knows] what delivery system in order to maintain its appeal and continue this world will be like when this revolution is over," he said. its phenomenal growth. "It's just like the beginning of the Industrial Revolution— Industry, academic and government representatives who they knew it was starting, they knew it was profound, but gathered for an executive forum, "Delivering E-Commerce: they really couldn't envision the [outcome]." Logistics and the On-Line Revolution," agreed The role of universities in e-commerce and the importance that transportation is often the most critical of investments in university research were popular topics. irs component of electronic commerce. "What universities need in terms of investments by the pri- Affa "You can order steaks from Omaha online, vate sector—although we certainly need money—is knowl- blic but you cannot download them to your plate. edge," said H. Donald Ratliff, executive director of The d Pu n a E-commerce delivery still requires transporta- Logistics Institute and UPS Professor of Industrial and ions t tion and a transportation system that can move Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. ica un products from a warehouse to your house," said "It's almost impossible at universities [to know what's going on in industry] without a lot of help from our friends in C. Rodney E. Slater, secretary of the U.S. te itu Department of Transportation. industry. ... Traditionally the university-industry partnership t Ins Slater was the keynote speaker for the Feb. has worked on a fairly small scale. We've got to do it on a 10-11 meeting sponsored by the Council on Dory, ley Competitiveness, a national non-partisan orga- Stan y b nization that promotes high-tech economic to development by influencing federal legislation Pho and public policy. United Parcel Service and Day two of the executive forum on Georgia Tech were co-hosts of the forum. e-commerce featured an I 8-member panel, The two-day forum began at UPS headquar- including (I to r): Frank Taylor, Ford ters, with John P.