Jon Cremins Looks To Excel At Georgia State With Vanderbilt Basketball In Mind

Atlanta—If the walls weren’t blue, Panther logos weren’t spread throughout the gym and the Atlanta skyline wasn’t shining through the end zone of Georgia State’s Convocation Center, it wouldn’t be all that hard to mistake the program that former Vanderbilt assistant Jon Cremins is running with the one Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington is at the helm of.

Cremins says that he wants to build his Georgia State program “exactly” how Byington has built his programs over the years. From the Spain actions, to the terminology, to the player development strategies to the emphasis on getting the right people, Cremins is trotting out all the same pillars that he watched Byington put in place over the years.

For the last seven years, Cremins has been alongside Byington as an assistant. He watched Byington build Georgia Southern into a winner. He watched him do the same at James Madison and Vanderbilt, too. As a result, he gravitates towards Byington’s blueprint.

Byington says that Cremins has to be himself, but he’s of the belief that his former assistant is smart for leaning on his familiarity as he takes on his first head coaching job.

“He’s been such a huge part of what we’ve done at James Madison and at Vanderbilt,” Byington told Vandy on SI. “He’s had a front-row seat of watching how to rebuild a program and he was a part of what he done, he also saw the blueprint of how to be successful and get things going.”

Vanderbilt basketball — Cremins and Byington have worked together for most of their careers. | Georgia State Athletics

Cremins may not say it, but he knows deep down that this Georgia State program needed a rebuilt when he took it over. The Panthers had just finished a 10-22 season with seven SunBelt wins and were stuck in their losing ways under head coach Jonas Hayes. They needed to be galvanized financially. They needed to find a spark again.

As a result, Georgia State’s administration awarded Cremins with his first shot as a Division-I head coach. Cremins has moved four hours south, but he’s yet to forget about what Vanderbilt did for him. Present in Georgia State’s facility have been former Vanderbilt standouts Jason Edwards and Devin McGlockton as well as former Vanderbilt walk-on Jason Edwards. Cremins also has former Vanderbilt staffers Matt Sholtis, Adam Simmons and Charlie DiPasqua alongside him in the Georgia State offices.

Cremins believed he was ready to take on a head coaching job before going to Vanderbilt with Byington, but the consensus among him and his camp is that the experience of going to a power-five program alongside Byington was the best thing for Cremins’ long-term outlook.

“I’ve been blessed to work with the best coach in all of college basketball,” Cremins said in a story from Basket Under Review. “I've kind of been part of the blueprint of seeing how to run a successful program with coach. I was part of it.  And now, I have the opportunity to run it myself. But I've been blessed to work with him. The way our guys represent the community, the university, the men's basketball program, that's how I want my program to be. I'm blessed to be able to do that here, and I'm blessed that I was able to work with him and be able to showcase that.”

Vanderbilt went to two NCAA Tournaments in Cremins’ two seasons on the staff and was able to land a number of big fish as a result of Cremins’ recruiting acumen. Byington appeared to hear some skepticism in regard to bringing Cremins with him as a lack of his power-five experience, but Cremins’ results indicated that he was ready for that opportunity.

Cremins believes he made the most of the chance that Byington gave him to move up a level. He navigated player compensation. He met with Vanderbilt coaches in other sports to pick their brains on the state of college sports. He proved that he could recruit and form meaningful relationships with SEC-level players–as evidenced by Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner posting crying emojis on Instagram when Cremins left Vanderbilt–for the first time in his career.

Now, he’ll aim to prove himself again, with Byington’s program as his blueprint.

“It was a blessing to be able to come to Vanderbilt, coach in the SEC,” Cremins told Vandy on SI. “I felt after this year,I was more ready than ever, competing in the highest level, just the pressure and just the experience I had, NIL experience rep share era, that was different. So I'm glad I was able to experience that in the SEC. I knew after this year I was ready to make the jump. I was ready to go.

"But, I didn't feel any pressure of going because I love Vanderbilt and I love working for Coach Byington. I love what he's about. I loved being a part of that program. Still a special place to me, still a massive Vanderbilt fan in all the sports.  I love that place, and I can't wait to see the next jump they take this year, because I know they're going to take a massive jump again.”

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