No. 1 With A Bullet

When Bobby Cremins (left) arrived at Georgia Tech in 1981, the team he inherited was every bit a Rambling Wreck—four wins and 23 losses the previous season. With a master's touch, the boy from New York City, who learned his stuff playing and coaching at South Carolina under another transplanted New Yorker, Frank McGuire, went to work and fashioned himself a band of solid gold. Rarely has a team zoomed so far so fast—to the very top of the charts in the first-ever SI Top 40 (right). Georgia Tech has all the makings of a group with staying power (page 50), but a record is only as good as its producer. With the 38-year-old Cremins at the controls, Georgia Tech should enjoy a long run as No. 1.

[originallink:10639521:44294]

PHOTO