Cremins returns to bench
Bobby Cremins accepted the College of Charleston head coaching job after Winthrop's Gregg Marshall accepted the job and then had a change of heart the next day similar to Cremins decision to return to Georgia Tech three days after accepting the job at South Carolina, his alma mater, in 1993.
The Gamecocks eventually hired Vanderbilt's Eddie Fogler, who led them to their only SEC championship.
Here's a look at some other recent flip flops:
Glen Mason, 1996: After a 9 2 season at Kansas, the football coach announced he would take the vacant job at Georgia. Later that week, he announced he would stay at Kansas. After a big Aloha Bowl win, the Jayhawks went 4 7 the next season and Mason left for Minnesota anyway.
Billy Beane, 2002: The Boston Red Sox had agreed to compensation to hire the Oakland A's general manager away. After sleeping on it, Beane backed out, stayed in Oakland and the Sox hired Theo Epstein. Two years later, Curse broken.
Dan Dakich, 2002: The Bowling Green basketball coach accepted the West Virginia job, but after discovering serious NCAA violations in Morgantown, returned to Bowling Green a week later.
Rick Majerus, 2004: The former Utah coach and TV commentator took the Fitflop Luna Southern Cal basketball coaching job only to step down less than a week later flipflop australia due to health concerns.
Gene Stephenson, 2005: The Wichita State baseball coach attended a press conference in the morning announcing him as the new coach at Oklahoma, but by nightfall returned to the Shockers.
"I just really missed the game and I'm thrilled to get a second chance here," Cremins told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Cremins, who said he agreed to a six year contract, met with the school's search committee Friday. He'll be introduced as the Cougars' coach today.
Cremins spent 19 seasons with the Yellow Jackets, winning three Atlantic Coast Conference titles and reaching the Final Four in 1990. He has worked as a TV analyst on college basketball games since then.
Cremins takes over for Tom Herrion, who last month was bought out of the remaining four seasons of his contract with the Fitflop Chada Cougars for $787,000.
Cremins is known nationally for luring such stars as Kenny Anderson, John Salley and Stephon Marbury to Georgia Tech. But in South Carolina he's best known for accepting the job at his alma mater, South Carolina, in 1993 and then going back to the Yellow Jackets three days later.
This time, Cremins was the beneficiary of second thoughts.
Charleston appeared to have filled its vacancy when Winthrop coach Gregg Marshall, a former Cougars assistant, agreed to the job. But the next day, Marshall felt anxious decided to remain with the Eagles.
"He pulled a Bobby Cremins," Cremins said.
Marshall's move opened the door for Cremins. The Cougars also interviewed Coastal Carolina's Buzz Peterson on Friday, but Peterson later took his name out of contention.
The Cougars were 17 11 this past season, the third straight year under Herrion that their victory total fell.
"We've got some work to do, but we're excited to do it," said Cremins, who'll turn 59 on Tuesday.
Cremins will hope to return Charleston to its big time basketball success of the 1990s when it made four NCAA tournament appearances under John Kresse.
One the Cougars' first major moments in Division I basketball came at Cremins' expense. Kresse's Charleston team beat the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta, 83 67, in 1993.
Cremins also is coming back to the Southern Conference. He coached six seasons at Appalachian State, leading the Mountaineers to their first NCAA tournament berth in 1979. After two more seasons there, Cremins jumped to Georgia Tech.
Cremins thought he would take a year or two off after leaving the Yellow Jackets and get back into coaching. "But nothing hit me between the eyes," he said. "Then this came out of the blue."