News
A Year Without Skip
Deacs, coaches preparing to pay tribute to Prosser
Journal Photo Illustration by Casandra Sherill
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Published: July 26, 2008
On the one-year anniversary of Skip Prosser's death, Wake Forest basketball players will get together for a team meal tonight and then pay tribute to their former coach with a private service.
If Wake Forest students and fans can pull it off, the trees lining the Quad in the middle of campus will be rolled in Prosser's honor.
On Sunday morning, coaches from around the country will gather in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., for a special Mass for Prosser.
Prosser left his mark on the university and on the coaching community before he collapsed and died of a heart attack last July 26 at age 56, and this weekend he will be mourned and celebrated again.
"Like I said at his funeral, I never knew a better man," said Dino Gaudio, who succeeded Prosser as Wake Forest's basketball coach. "He treated everyone the same. He kept his common touch.
"He was just a freshman coach 30 years ago, and he kept that same mentality. He never walked around like he was better than anybody. He befriended presidents of universities and politicians as well as the ladies who work at the cafeteria, the mailman, everyone. He just treated everybody the same. And that's really what made him special."
Prosser compiled a 126-68 record in six seasons at Wake Forest and a 291-146 career record over 14 seasons, with earlier stints at Loyola of Maryland and Xavier. He was the ACC coach of the year in 2003. But those who knew him consider those numbers insignificant compared to the impact he had on their lives.
"He did a lot of little things that people didn't realize he did," said guard Harvey Hale, a rising senior. "Now that he's gone, I remember the little calls he gave me, ‘Am I working hard?' or just joking around with me. He made me a better player and a better person and who I am today. He always told me, ‘When I'm done yelling at you, that's when you should worry.' That's what I remember, him getting on me and pushing me and getting me to play at my highest potential."
Wake Forest will not hold an official ceremony today, because several coaches and members of the athletics department are scattered around the country. Gaudio and some of his assistants will be in Lake Buena Vista for an AAU Senior Boys tournament and 17-under Super Showcase, which features some of the top recruiting prospects in the country. School officials said that the athletics department would like to honor Prosser at an appropriate time when everyone is back on campus.
"The last year has been a very difficult year as we lost a dear friend and outstanding coach," Athletics Director Ron Wellman said. "Skip will always be one of the most memorable personalities and wonderful representatives that we have ever had at Wake Forest. He continues to be missed but certainly continues to live through the current basketball team."
For Gaudio, being at the AAU tournament brings back vivid memories. Prosser was at the tournament last year the night before he died. Prosser returned home on a morning flight from Orlando the day he died.
Gaudio remembers the last time he saw Prosser. The two were standing outside the Milk House (arena) after the final games that night, having a conversation with Florida's Billy Donovan.
"I am not looking forward to going to Orlando," Gaudio said before he left. "I'm really not. I told Jeff (Battle) I don't want to stay in the same hotel Skip and I stayed in when we were down there."
Gaudio said that the recruiting trail has been full of reminders of Prosser in the past month.
"It's amazing, I go to Philadelphia for the Reebok Classic at the beginning of the month, I run into Jimmy Barron (Rhode Island's coach), and the first thing he says to me is, ‘Dino, this is the last place I talked to Skip,'" Gaudio said. "We're in Vegas, and we're staying at the Marriott Suites, and in the morning for breakfast, me, Pat (Kelsey) and Mike (Muse) were at this corner, and later that day as we were planning out the day, Phil Martelli (St. Joe's coach) said to me, ‘When I walked past there and saw you guys, I had a flashback and that's where you guys always sat with Skip.' It's just amazing how people remember those things."
Gaudio said that the best tribute to Prosser is the fact that so many people have remembered him and have supported the Wake Forest basketball program in the time since. The Deacons went 17-13 last season.
"It's amazing how many people he touched," Gaudio said. "The support we've received, throughout the year, just from everybody -- literally hundreds of calls. And the thing that made the past year so doable and bearable was the support we got from the university and the city of Winston-Salem and, I'll tell you, the whole state. They sort of wrapped their arms around this team and this program.
"I tell people all the time, Wake Forest has a gorgeous campus, we have a beautiful arena, the Quad, the chapel. But the thing that makes it special is the people. And you find that out when you go through difficult times like we did."
■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.
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