Is College of Charleston bringing back former coach Bobby Cremins?

The head coaching search at College of Charleston could take an interesting direction as the school considers bringing back legendary coach Bobby Cremins, reports Andrew Miller of The Post and Courier.

The College of Charleston fired its previous coach, Doug Wojcik, with cause on Aug. 5 after “two independent investigations uncovered allegations of verbal and physical abuse of players and athletic department staff members.”

The school then opened up a major interview process, with at least six candidates discussing the job: Johnson, Clemson assistant Earl Grant, Wofford head coach Mike Young, UConn assistant Karl Hobbs, former UNC Charlotte head coach Bobby Lutz and Virginia assistant Ritchie McKay.

Johnson was reportedly considered the front-runner a couple days ago, but everything changes with Cremins’ name thrown into the ring. Cremins, 67, coached the Cougars from 2006-12, leading the team to a 125-68 record under his watch after making his name as the head guy at Georgia Tech from 1981-2000.

In the middle of the 2011-12 season, Cremins took a leave of absence for medical reasons, then retired at the end of the season. Before the team hired Wojcik two years ago, Johnson was among the candidates for the job. The school may be looking to rectify that decision now, and bring the former Cougar star back into the fold.

Given Johnson’s lack of coaching experience -- he’s 39 years old and retired from the NBA in 2010 -- the proposed one-year hiring of Cremins would give him a year to learn the ropes under a legend. It seems like the school views Johnson as its long-term option no matter what, but might prefer to give him a year of mentoring before giving him complete control.

In 1997, Johnson was the first College of Charleston player ever selected in the NBA Draft. As a Cougar, he led the team to one NCAA Tournament and two NIT appearances.