Doherty not winning over
everybody at St. John’s

SAN ANTONIO – Former Notre Dame and North Carolina coach

Matt Doherty has emerged as the front-runner in St. John’s

search for a new coach, but not every Red Storm supporter is in

favor of hiring the 2001 National Coach of the Year.

At least one of the factions that does not support Doherty’s

candidacy has approached the Rev. Donald J. Harrington, St.

John’s president, with the suggestion of bringing back former

Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins to a college sideline.

Cremins has not coached since retiring from Tech in 2000, but is

said to want to get back into the game. Cremins spent much of the

winter talking to members of the city’s high school

basketball community who felt disenfranchised during the Mike Javis

era. When he was at Georgia Tech, Cremins was successful with

recruits from the city, notably Kenny Anderson and Stephon

Marbury.

“He wanted to see whether we would come back to St.

John’s and he wanted to know if we liked the sound of him

becoming the coach,” said one member of the city’s high

school basketball ranks.

The powerbrokers who have been trying to sway Harrington in his

decision have already had an impact. Memphis coach John Calipari -

at one time considered one of the favorites – saw the fragmented

support for the program and wanted no part of the overpoliticized

situation.

In 19 seasons as head coach at Georgia Tech, Cremins went to the

NCAA Tournament 10 times, including a trip to the Final Four in

1990 with Anderson.

Roger Rubin
New York Daily News
(KRT)

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