CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) Bobby Cremins said this time he is stepping down for good.

Nearly two months after taking a medical leave of absence from the College of Charleston men's basketball team, an emotional Cremins announced Monday he was retiring from the game.

But he struggled to get the words out.

The coach's voice cracked and he fought back tears as he addressed players, friends and administrators on the floor of TD Arena, the Cougars' home court.

''With the blessings of my family, my team, staff, friends, and the College of Charleston, I have decided to retire as our coach,'' Cremins said.

The 64-year-old Cremins announced on Jan. 27 that he would miss the rest of the Cougars' season and later said he was physically exhausted. Cremins went on an indefinite medical leave of absence but said his condition was not life-threatening.

College of Charleston athletic director Joe Hull said at the time that he planned to speak with Cremins over the next few weeks to determine it the coach will be out even longer.

''It was unfortunate what happened to me in late January. I didn't like what happened and I'll never know why,'' Cremins said. ''Our bodies sometimes send us signals, so we have to listen. The silver lining is that my staff, led by Mark Byington, my team, my school, they had my back and they responded in a special way.''

Ten days after his initial announcement, Cremins said on Feb. 6 that he ''had no gas'' and that his players knew. ''They could feel it.'' He added that while his energy level wasn't where it needed to be, he was ''definitely feeling a lot better'' at that time.

Under Byington, the Cougars finished the season 19-12 and were knocked out of the Southern Conference tournament in the first round for the first time since joining the league in 1998.

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College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins retires