As many of you may have heard - especially those of you who follow sports closely - our beloved Wake Forest basketball coach, Skip Prosser, died yesterday. I was shocked when I heard the news and I even teared up a bit. I know that sounds dumb, considering that I didn't actually know the guy personally - and he wasn't even the basketball coach until the season after I graduated - but what makes it so tragic was that it was sudden. He was only 56 years old and literally dropped dead of a heart attack.
What I remember about him is that he totally transformed basketball at Wake. He got the student section moved down so we were right next to the court (before that, the close seats were saved for the big-money alumni). He stole students' hearts when he delivered pizza to everyone camping out for tickets (no other coach in recent memory had ever done that before). He ate dinner and lunch at the student center.
And he was just a nice guy. So down-to-earth and someone you could see becoming a mentor or friend. Truly, Wake Forest basketball will never be the same again.
For those interested, here's an article from the Winston-Salem Journal. You can also click on the link to see a photo slideshow. Also, there will be some tributes tonight on ESPN and ESPN Classic, so watch for those.
It's always sad when someone dies. It's sadder when someone dies unexpectantly. And it's sadder still when someone dies who left a mark on a small part of the world and still had so much work left to do.
Friday, July 27, 2007
WFU community 'rolls the Quad' in honor of Prosser The WFU community began paying respects to Skip Prosser early this morning by doing something the beloved basketball coach loved to participate in - "rolling the Quad."
Prosser often joined Wake Forest University students on the Quad to stream the trees with toilet paper after big basketball victories.Rolling the Quad is usually a loud, jubilant celebration. This morning, it was quiet and somber. More than 200 came to the Quad about midnight to show their respects to Prosser, who died yesterday at 56. They included students, former students, faculty and athletes and former athletes. The basketball team was on the Quad at the beginning. They were joined by former WFU basketball stars Chris Paul, who now plays for the New Orleans Hornets, and Justin Gray.
"He was such an honorable, well-respected guy," said Lindsay Donohue, a WFU senior from Winston-Salem who wore her tie-dye WFU T-shirt. "I just wanted to come out here and pay my respects. Also for his family."
Prosser made students feel like they were a part of WFU basketball, and they said they wanted to roll the Quad as a sign of what he meant to them.Senior David Curameng of Fayetteville said he thought it was a cruel joke when Donohue called him to tell him Prosser had died. Then he was in shock, as were many others."He was always up even though our basketball team took a downfall a little," Curameng said. "He really did inspire the student body to always be active with the team, and he just made just made us feel like we were a huge part."
Many people had left campus by 1 a.m., but a few stayed quietly watching as light breezes moved the streams of white paper.
"He was just a great representative of Wake Forest, and I just felt like he played a big role in my life as a student, so I figured it was the least I could do to pay respects to him and his family, " said Todd Augustus, a 2003 graduate of WFU who works at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Steven Elliott, a 2004 graduate, said he also wanted to be part of the tribute and couldn't believe Prosser was gone. "I was a Screaming Deacon for four years. He provided so much entertainment when I was here."
Jason Carter, a WFU senior from the town of Wake Forest, was among a number of students who spread the word to come to the Quad at midnight.
He described this morning as the most somber Quad-rolling ever. Seeing so many people together quietly on the Quad was powerful, he said. "I guess in a way we're celebrating Skip's life," Carter said. He recalled the times that Prosser would come out to help after a big win. Prosser threw toilet paper on the trees and mingled with everyone else in celebration.
"Everybody's got a story of seeing Skip," he said. And he remembered what Prosser told students before the important games: "I'll see you all here at midnight."
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173352158368
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