As we kick off a new decade (I think 2011 would be a considered the first year in a new decade. Right?) and a new blog, let's take a step back and look at where the College of Charleston basketball program is positioned both regionally and nationally.
In the late 80's and 90's under this blog's namesake, John Kresse, CofC was well known in sports media for it's raucous home crowd and intimidating status as a giant killer. There were a number of milestones during Kresse's tenure including an NAIA Championship in 1983, the school's transition to Division 1 in 1993, the highest poll rankings the school has ever seen and numerous NCAA Tournament appearances.
Despite the recognition CofC basketball received under John Kresse, his retirement in 2002 led to a disappointing four year tenure by replacement Tom Herrion. Under Herrion, the school no longer dominated the conference and began to slip back towards mediocrity. Seeking a jolt of life, the athletics department was able to pull longtime Georgia Tech coach and walks-on-the-beach enthusiast Bobby Cremins out of retirement to rebuild the program. My theory is that Cremins saw how well positioned for success the basketball program was. The College itself was changing. The school was rapidly expanding its student population and facilities, the surrounding Charleston community was growing larger and best of all, plans were in order to build a new basketball arena. Fans, facilities and financial support were all in place. The only thing left was someone to recruit players and build a competitive team.
And it was about that time that this particular blogger walked into Charleston with wide eyes and a passion for college basketball. Under Cremins the basketball team has again found its way onto the national radar with quality wins and more recently, a knack for stealing quality recruits from ACC schools. The CofC basketball program is going places, and certainly headed in the right direction.
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