Randolph Childress meant too much to Wake Forest to ever be gone for good.
Childress, the All-America guard who in 1995 willed the Deacons to their first ACC title in more than 30 years, has returned to his alma mater as assistant to the director of athletics. Ron Wellman, WFU's athletics director, said the position was created for Childress, who will be involved in the areas of compliance, fundraising and mentoring student athletes.
Wellman said Childress will work especially closely with the players on the men's and women's basketball teams.
"No. 1, I think he'll be a great addition to our staff,'' Wellman said. "Randolph wants to get into collegiate athletics, whether it be in coaching or administration. He's still a little bit up in the air about that.
"We're not sure where Randolph's career will take him. We're going to try to expose him to a number of different areas. But a really important area for us is just a mentorship of our student athletes.''
Childress, whose 2,208 career points rank second to Dickie Hemric in Wake Forest history, has become a legend at the school, if nothing else for his performance in the 1995 ACC tournament.
Childress, playing with a dislocated little finger on his right hand, scored a career-high 40 points in a first-round comeback victory over Duke, poured in 30 in the semifinals against Virginia and then capped off the weekend by burning North Carolina for 37 in the championship.
His final two points were the winning bucket with four seconds left in overtime that lifted the Deacons to their first ACC title since the glory days of Len Chappell and Billy Packer in 1962. The 10-foot runner also broke the record for most points in a tournament with 107.
"I congratulate him,'' coach Dean Smith of North Carolina said after the game. "I'm glad he's gone.''
Childress was a first-round draft pick by the Detroit Pistons in 1995, but he suffered a knee injury his second season while playing with Portland Trailblazers. He has spent the past 11 years playing pro basketball in Italy.
He said he has long wished to return to Wake Forest in some capacity, but he thought he might have to begin his career in college athletics administration at another school and work his way back. He said he was "ecstatic" to get this opportunity.
"For one, it excites me because it brings me back here,'' Childress said. "And from a mentoring standpoint, it gives me an opportunity to educate these guys on an experience that I've done.
"I've accomplished it across the board, so when I talk to these young men and women, I've had the ups and downs of the injuries, the success. I've been a first-round pick; I've had a successful career abroad. So I think for any of these young men and women who are going through that process, I've obviously done it.
"And I think I can share that experience with those guys, and a lot of times those kids, they tend to listen to someone who has actually gone through it, and more specifically, have gone through it here.''
Childress was named the 1995 ACC athlete of the year and was a member of the ACC's 50th anniversary men's basketball team named in 2002.
"The hiring of Randolph Childress is an absolute grand slam for Wake Forest,'' coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "His honors and achievements are well documented, but what is most important is the positive impact he will have in mentoring our impressionable student-athletes.
"Randolph will also aid greatly as we make a concerted effort to reach out to our basketball alumni.''
Wellman said that Childress' accomplishments at Wake Forest should make him more influential to the players who grew up on stories of Childress leading the Deacons to the NCAA tournament in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1995, helping to beat Duke six straight times and not allowing the Deacons to lose in the 1995 ACC tournament.
They ran their streak to nine straight wins over Duke after Childress left.
"Every athlete will know who Randolph Childress is, and they'll look at him and say 'There's a guy who made something out of his career at Wake Forest.' " Wellman said. "He didn't come from a privileged background or anything like that, and yet he came to Wake Forest and really took advantage of every opportunity given to him.''
Childress and his wife, Jen-Ai, have two sons, Brandon (13) and Deven (11).
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