Mark Prosser, an assistant coach at Wofford, has been down this road before.
As players, fans and alumni gear up for the NCAA Tournament, he's trying to stay on an even keel -- an approach he learned during two NCAA trips as an assistant at Bucknell.
"Having been there and seen it before, it's just a great week," Prosser, 31, said. "The tournament is what everybody talks about, and to actually be a part of it really is worth all the hard work."
Prosser, in his second stint at Wofford, is a son of the late Skip Prosser, the former Wake Forest coach who died in July 2007. In continuing to move forward in pursuit of a head-coaching position, he said he often thinks about calling his father, then stops and realizes he can't.
He said that there was never a time after his father's death when he considered leaving coaching. Recruiting trips and contact with coaches who knew his father well stir memories, but Prosser said that's all part of his healing process.
"You know it's funny, but we have that Skip Prosser Award, and everyone gets a chance to tell stories about him and those stories never get old," Prosser said. "And they are all great stories, and there are so many of them. I never hear the same story twice."
Prosser has been married nine months and said that his wife, Emily Criscione, is a calming influence. Much like his father, Mark Prosser is a tireless worker, unafraid of long hours.
"She'll kind of divert my attention from coaching and tell me to slow down a little bit," he said.
Prosser played at Marist, but his career ended with a torn ACL. After that, he started to help Coach Dave Magarity with the team, and a career was born.
"I remember Coach Magarity telling Skip that Mark had a real knowledge of the game and had all the ingredients needed to be coach," Coach Dino Gaudio of Wake Forest said. "And I just think that with Mark growing up around the game like that, it was a natural thing that he got into it."
Gaudio said he was happy to see Wofford make the NCAA Tournament.
"The thing about Mark is he has kind of blazed his own trail and has done very well with it," Gaudio said. "And that's great to see."
Prosser said that one of the many memories he has of Skip is his trying to talk him out of coaching. "He actually would say, ‘Don't do it,'" said Mark, adding that he loves the challenges of the job, from the day-to-day work in practice to scouting the next opponent.
Wofford, the Southern Conference champion, will play Wisconsin on Friday in its NCAA opener.
Prosser started at Wofford before the 2002-03 season, then moved to Bucknell and stayed five seasons. Bucknell reached the NCAA Tournament in 2005 and defeated Kansas in the first round. It returned the next season and defeated Arkansas in the first round before losing to Memphis in the second.
At some point Prosser said, he'll be ready for a head-coaching job, but right now he's content to help Mike Young continue to build the Terriers.
"Absolutely it's a goal," Prosser said of a head-coaching position. "I've been in different places as an assistant, and I'm learning a ton, but I'm not in a huge hurry. The longer I continue to learn, then I'll be even more prepared when it's time."
Prosser said he thinks a lot about his father, and he continues to receive e-mails and letters from fans of Wake Forest and Xavier.
"I don't mind getting those letters because it keeps his memory alive, and that's helped me," he said.
"And having that award named after him and helping out with that has been great because of what the award means."
The Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, which will have its third winner announced at next month's Final Four in Indianapolis, is given to a head coach who achieves success on the court and shows moral integrity. Mike Brey of Notre Dame won in 2008, and Ed Conroy of The Citadel won last season.
"I think he'd be proud of me," Prosser said, "and I know he would be proud of the award in his name."
jdell@wsjournal.com
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