Kresse looks on as his Cougars play Stanford in last year's NCAA Tournament.

The coaching carousel is a dizzying one in all sports and college basketball is no exception -- but John Kresse is.

In the era of musical coach's chairs, the head man at the College of Charleston wants to go nowhere. In an ESPN.com chat, Kresse explained what makes his program the giant killer it is and why he can guarantee he's staying put.

If you missed the Feb. 18 appearance, in which the Queens-raised veteran coach explained why he's not leaving the building with his name on it, why he'll never get the chance to coach against Auburn and why he'll settle for anything other than a 17 seed, an edited transcript follows.

Kresse: This is John Kresse with the College of Charleston. My 20th year here has been like a magic carpet ride, a 21-game win streak which ties us with Duke for the longest right now.

We have won all 15 games in our league so far and the December 5th win over North Carolina was a big one for our program. We hope to make it to the postseason for the sixth straight year in this, our eighth year in Division I.

Phil Craun: Compare Jody Lumpkin to your centers of previous Cougar teams.

"I am one of the few who can promise them in writing that I won't sign them and then leave in a short time. I won't leave them for greener pastures."

John Kresse: Two years ago, we had Thad Delaney, the Shaq of the TAAC and he did wonderful things in the middle. We won 23 games in a row, including a win over Maryland in the NCAAs. Then we lost to Arizona by just four.

Lumpkin, a transfer from Rice, has done a good job. He's the best protector of the basket I've coached in my 20 years here. He changes most shots of the guy he is guarding, as well as others going towards the hoop.

He's got a 1500 SAT score, he tutors other students. He's a model student and player, as good as I've had in all my years of coaching.

Mike Craig: Do you think you guys will sneak up on anybody during the Big Dance or will you guys be a team that everyone looks out for.

Kresse: So far, I've looked in my mailbox and I don't have an invitation to the prestigious NCAA tournament. I hope we can finish out our regular season vs. Furman with a victory. That would put us at 25-2 and then we'll put our entire thrust into winning the Southern Conference tournament in Greensboro next Friday-Sunday. A few years back, Davidson went unbeaten in Southern Conference play, lost in the finals, and did not receive an at-large bid on that Sunday. Until we're in the tournament, I don't want to talk too much about seeds. I just don't want to be the 17th seed in this tournament.

Tony C.: Does your ABA and St. John's experience help you in your coaching today?

Kresse: My mentors were Joe Lapchick, who I played for as a walk-on at St. John's. He coached the Celtics and Knicks as well. I assisted Lou Carnesecca for 14 years, 11 with St. John's and three with the Nets. They were gentlemen, teacher/coaches who taught the game well, recruited and also knew the value of public relations. I have taken just about all of their philosophy and style and tried to be very much a copycat in what they did in their coaching lives.

Both coaches are in the Naismith Hall of Fame.

Hello: How does it feel to be the best team in South Carolina, better than your ACC and SEC counterparts?

KRESSE'S FILE

After dominating the Trans-Atlantic Athletic Conference for years, the Cougars joined the Southern Conference this season and didn't skip a beat. Kresse's team is currently at No. 21 in the ESPN/USA Today poll with a 24-2 mark. The Cougars also sit atop the Southern Conference standings with a perfect 15-0 mark, which should earn the school its third straight NCAA Tournament bid. Kresse, who is in his 20th season at Charleston, entered the year with the third-highest winning percentage among active coaches at .798 (465-118). He is a living legend at the school, where they have named their homecourt "John Kresse Arena" after the man who brought them five straight TAAC titles.

Kresse: I have a tremendous respect for Eddie Fogler and the Gamecocks, and Larry Shyatt and the Tigers. We don't have the facilities, the budget, the TV exposure that those programs get, but our senior-laden team has risen to the occasion and catches the imagination of basketball fans nationally. It has been called a giant killer over the years, and now sells out every home game at our arena. Judge Alex Sanders, our president, has designated a site about 4 1/2 blocks from campus for a new 6,500 seat facility within the next few years.

Christian Eduardo: You've obviously done a great job putting together your teams over the years. When you and your staff recruit, what do you look for in guards, forwards and centers?

Kresse: In our own recruiting, we never get the player that is recruited by the ACC, SEC, Big East, Big Ten, so we go for the next level of player and we can offer a quality education, a school that was founded and opened its doors in 1770, a Disney World campus, a magic picture of the old and the new, a city which is one of the great tourist attractions in the world, instant playing time and a coach who will not play musical chairs.

I am one of the few who can promise them in writing that I won't sign them and then leave in a short time. I won't leave them for greener pastures. We also have open arms for excellent transfers. We presently have Danny Johnson, a transfer from Clemson, Carl Thomas from Western Kentucky, Jody Lumpkin from Rice and now, sitting out this season is James Griffin from Wake Forest. Our recruiting has been a combination of newcomers from high school and also an excellent group of transfers over the years.

G: Are Clemson and USC ever going to give you a chance to play them on a regular basis? Any plans for games with either in the near future?

Kresse: No. Larry Shyatt has directly told me he will not play against the College of Charleston until I am either retired or in a coffin. Eddie Fogler has said that they also will not play us on any type of regular basis. They feel they have more to lose than to gain by playing our school.

Mark Slinden: Who do you think is the favorite to win the NCAA tournament this year.

Kresse: I love the talent and coaching of Duke and Connecticut this season. These two ballclubs play with unbelievable intensity. They're very deep into their benches and they put the choke hold on you with their defenses.

Chong Roh: Have you ever considered moving on to a big time school or even to the NBA again?

Kresse: Since I had the taste of Broadway while coaching at St. John's and with the New York Nets of the ABA with Rick Barry for two seasons ... well, if I had not had those 14 years, I probably would have tried to see what those levels were all about. Presently, I've got five more years on a 10-year contract. They named the building after me, John Kresse Arena, while I am alive and kicking -- what a tremendous honor. I just love the school and the city. I will certainly finish my career in Charleston and I hope we can keep this run alive.

GoCougs: How about the decision to move from the TAAC to the Southern? Do you feel that conference tournament finals should be hosted by regular season winners?

Kresse: The TAAC was the first league that we moved to and we had an outstanding five years. We were 80-6. However, it was such a spread out conference, games in Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina. There weren't any natural rivalries. The Southern Conference extends to us a more traditional basketball league, better history and rivalries which are close by. We now bus to all of our away league games and we have three colleagues in the Palmetto State in the Citadel, Furman and Wofford. It was a tremendous move not only for our basketball team, but all of our sports at the College of Charleston.

I believe that conference tournaments should be played at a neutral site, especially off a campus, not on a campus facility. We lucked out the last two seasons by hosting the TAAC tournament on our own campus. It is a natural edge to have the players sleep in their own beds, shoot on their own baskets and rims they practice on each and every day. The biggest asset is the home crowd. It is tough winning games in college hoops on that visitors floor.

Sarge: Do you think the selection process should take into account that some programs can not get teams from larger conferences to play them on a regular basis?

Kresse: Yes. Take for instance our program. If not for pre-conference tournaments like the San Juan Shootout, where we played Illinois, Nebraska and UAB, and then the Great Alaska Shootout against Stanford, Arizona State and Kentucky, and this season the Food Lion MVP Classic, where we played North Carolina and South Carolina, we would have a difficult time in playing the larger marquee teams. For sure, it would always be at their den, where it is always tough to win. Scheduling has been most difficult over the years and now it is getting worse by the minute.

Cyril Simmons: Hey coach, how are you? Compare your team from last season to your team this season.

Kresse: The RPIs favor the biggies, it doesn't help the smaller schools very much.

As for comparing teams, I will never compare one team with another until it is all said and done. When the balls stop bouncing, hopefully sometime in March, then I'll compare this team to the one two years ago that went 29-3.

WakeFan: Off the college basketball topic, I heard you were a gym teacher at Christ the King High School in NYC. How did your experiences with basketball and life when you were younger make you the person and coach you are today?

"We don't have the facilities, the budget, the TV exposure that those programs get, but our senior-laden team has risen to the occasion and catches the imagination of basketball fans nationally."

Kresse: Yes, after graduating from St. John's in 1964, I took a coaching and teaching position at Christ the King H.S. in Middle Village, Queens. The two subjects I taught were English and Physical Education. I grew up in Ridgewood, Queens, living across the street from a famous playground, Grover Cleveland Park. I could look out my second floor window to see who was playing from literally 8 a.m. to midnight. There was a summer league there which included players like Lenny Wilkens, Connie Hawkins, Rudy LaRusso and Kevin Loughery. I was a basketball fanatic ever since I was 10 years of age.

Aaron Conetta: Some basketball analysts think you're the Valparsio in the NCAA tournament this year, what is your thought on that remark?

Kresse: Our dream and goal is to do the Charleston at the big dance. Getting in is the No. 1 step, and then hopefully making some noise and pulling an upset or two is the next best thing. The road to the Final Four has become the most popular of all sporting events. You have 64 teams with potential upsets and a great buildup. Now the commentators are talking about the bubble teams. Then on Selection Sunday there is drama as some get chosen while other have sad faces. The countdown begins to St. Pete. I think our basketball tournament has taken the hearts and souls of the sporting world.

Mordecai: Jermel President has very impressive shooting stats. Is he an NBA caliber player?

Kresse: Jermel President is averaging 11.3 points. He is the leading foul shooter in the Southern Conference at 89 percent. He has a chance for the NBA, but his size will probably dictate more of a European career if he wants to keep on playing.

Sedric Webber, who was the MVP of the TAAC last year and is vying for that same honor in the Southern Conference this year, is a dynamic player. He reminds me of Shandon Anderson of the Utah Jazz in that he is athletic, scores, defends, rebounds and makes positive things happen.

Sedric has a real chance to continue on to be our second NBA player. Anthony Johnson started more than 50 games with the Kings last season after being a second-round pick (40th overall). He now backs up Mookie Blaylock in Atlanta.

Jason: How much harder does the SoCon tournament become if you finish conference play undefeated?

Kresse: There has been a bullseye target on our chest all season long. No. 1, we're a newcomer. Second, we haven't lost a conference game yet, and if we should win out and run the table on Saturday by beating Furman, it will grow in pressure and how badly one of our conference members want to take us out in tournament play.

DavidsonWildcat: What teams in the Southern Conference present matchup problems for you?

Kresse: Our toughest and best win was a victory at Davidson. We were down 15 points with less than seven minutes to go and staged a tremendous rally, winning 84-80. They are the champions from last season and Bob McKillop has great size and depth with his team.

The other two who are extremely fine ballclubs are Appalachian State, with Michael Jordan's former college roommate Buzz Peterson as coach. He has done a tremendous job this season; they are quick, fast, press-oriented. Tennessee-Chattanooga, who finished second in the South Division of our conference has tremendous one-on-one players and they are a very physical team which can rebound the basketball.

Coug Alum: Coach, how's the team look for next year since we lose several key senior leaders? Any big recruits coming in?

Kresse: We signed four very fine prospects in November. They include A.J. Harris, a point guard from Good Counsel HS in Maryland, Troy Whelliss from Bunn H.S. in North Carolina, Rudy Rothseiden from Florida and JUCO player Derrick Miller. Rothseiden is 6-foot-8 and Miller is 6-foot-6 from Central Florida JC. When you lose eight seniors, I considered asking our president for a sabbatical. He said no, try a little coaching next season.

Thanks for all of your questions. I hope the fans will keep on rooting for the Cougars.