Mark Byington did not win his first game as the Cougars' head coach, but his team showed an intensity that has been missing recently. (Abby Frye/GSO)
In the long line of maroon that demarcates the boundaries of John Kresse Court, there is one spot, maybe 18 inches square, that has been ground almost white.
This is Bobby’s spot.
This is the spot where College of Charleston head coach Bobby Cremins has stood for more than five seasons, coaching, cajoling, contemplating, as the game unfolded in front of him.
This is Bobby’s spot, even if he never stands there again.
Mark Byington, who was rightfully handed the title of interim head coach when Cremins unexpectedly stepped aside with undisclosed medical issues on Friday, did not stand in Bobby’s spot on Saturday. He paced. He strayed out onto the court. He ventured down past the far end of his bench to get a better perspective on the team that has suddenly become his team.
Because, despite assuring the assembled media on Thursday that this was “still Coach Cremins’ team,” for the next two months, this is his team, and its success will depend greatly on him.
Bobby Cremins will not stand in his worn-down spot again this season. I personally don’t believe that he ever will again, as Charleston’s head coach.
This isn’t Bobby Cremins’ team. This isn’t fabled alum Anthony Johnson’s team, despite his NBA pedigree and John Kresse legacy. This team doesn’t belong to any mid-major upstart or ACC castoff.
This is Mark Byington’s team.
Will Byington be the head coach when the Cougars take the floor in October for the first practice of the 2012-13 season? For the next two months, that question does not make one damn bit of difference, and fans who fixate on it are doing a disservice to the players, to Byington and to Cremins himself.
A healthy College of Charleston team – the Cougars lost to Wofford without starters Anthony Stitt and Adjehi Baru – will be a force in the Southern Conference Tournament. Byington says, with conviction, that they could win it all. And he should know just how good they could be.
After all, this is his team.
