Skip Prosser
Encyclopedia
George Edward "Skip" Prosser (November 3, 1950 – July 26, 2007) was an American
college basketball
coach who was head men's basketball
coach at Wake Forest University
at the time of his death. He was the only coach in NCAA history to take three separate schools to the NCAA Tournament
in his first year coaching the teams. In 21 years as a collegiate coach, he made 18 postseason appearances.
Previously, he coached Xavier University
for seven seasons, where he achieved great success. He spent his first year of coaching at the collegiate level at Loyola College in Maryland, where he took the Greyhounds to the team's only modern-day NCAA Tournament appearance.
Prosser was the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year
in 2003. His teams have at times been participants in the NCAA Tournament in March, although Wake Forest did not participate in the 2006 or 2007 seasons.
suburb
of Carnegie
and graduated from Carnegie High School, where he played football
and basketball. He played basketball and rugby union
at the United States Merchant Marine Academy
where he earned a degree in nautical science
in 1972.
Prosser coached at Linsly Military Institute in Wheeling, West Virginia
, where he achieved a 38–9 record. He then was hired as a history teacher at Wheeling Central Catholic High School
, where he coached his teams to a state championship in 1982, five regional championships and three conference titles over a period of six years and a record of 104-48. Prosser would say later in his career that he would be happy if he were still teaching and coaching at Central Catholic High. One of the players on his championship team was Doug Wojcik
, now head coach at the University of Tulsa
. Prosser earned his master's degree
in secondary education from West Virginia University
while he taught at Wheeling Central.
as an assistant coach for eight seasons at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, starting with the 1985–1986 season, and he became Gillen's top assistant.
Prosser began as head coach at Loyola in Baltimore
, a team which he coached to a 17–13 record and its only NCAA tournament berth. The previous year, the team had finished 2–25.
Xavier then hired Prosser to take over for his former boss Gillen as head coach when Gillen left for Providence. Prosser became the second-winningest coach in Xavier history after Gillen.
Prosser began his career at Wake Forest in 2001 and led the Demon Deacons to the NCAA tournament in each of his first four years there. Prosser is credited for sparking participation in the Wake Forest student Screamin' Demons and increasing attendance with game-time antics, like having the Demon Deacon mascot enter Lawrence Joel on a Harley Davidson and filling the coliseum with Zombie Nation
's "Kernkraft 400
" at tip-off and when the Deacons would go on a run. During Prosser's tenure as head coach, home season tickets sold out for the first time ever in 2004. During the 2004–2005 season, the team was ranked #1 by the Associated Press
for the first time in the school's history and won a school-record 27 games. At Wake Forest, Prosser won 100 games faster than all but two ACC coaches. In 2003, his Demon Deacons squad became the first from the ACC to ever lead the nation in rebounding
. In the summer of 2007, Prosser had organized what was said to be a top-five recruiting class for the upcoming year.
Prosser was the collegiate coach of current or former NBA players Aaron Williams
, James Posey
, David West
, Josh Howard
, Darius Songaila
and Chris Paul
; he won national recruiting wars for Paul and Eric Williams. He amassed a career record of 291–146 (.666).
Every senior that Prosser coached earned his degree in four years.
During his last two troubling seasons, he would quote Thomas Paine
, Henry David Thoreau
, Friedrich Nietzsche
or William Shakespeare
to his players to inspire them. The spring semester prior to summer exhibition tours, Prosser would require that every member of his team take a one-credit class on the history of the place they would be visiting. He would also attend the class and write the required term paper.
.
An avid sports fan, Prosser was a follower of the Pittsburgh Steelers
since childhood and would often find sports bars to watch their games while on the road. He was at Three Rivers Stadium
to witness the Immaculate Reception
. He also saw Roberto Clemente
's 3,000th and final hit, and the last game ever played at Three Rivers Stadium. He once hitchhiked
across the country.
Prosser earned a reputation in college basketball for a keen intellect and sense of humor. He enjoyed reading the books of Robert Ludlum
, along with biographies and books on history, philosophy and politics. The athletic director at Loyola, Joe Boylan, said that Prosser was a "renaissance man
coaching basketball." Former Xavier player Dwayne Wilson said, "He always liked to read history books, so he was always quoting something – whether it be Winston Churchill or another great author – he was always quoting somebody on something."
Prosser stated, in an interview that aired just after his death, that his favorite quote was from Ralph Waldo Emerson
: "He was a transcendentalist
in America in the 1830s who said `Our chief want in life is someone who will make us do what we can.' I thought that was a powerful statement that we need to be around people who challenge us to be as good as we can be."
at the Kentner Stadium
track adjacent to his office in the Manchester Athletic Center on Wake Forest's campus. A staff member found him unresponsive around 12:45 pm; medical personnel performed CPR and used a defibrillator in efforts to revive Prosser. He was rushed to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
, where he was pronounced dead at 1:41 pm from an apparent "sudden massive heart attack
". He was 56 years old.
The announcement of Prosser's death was delayed until later in the day because his wife was traveling to Cincinnati and had not yet been reached. Players were gathered and taken to an off-campus location without their cell phones to guard them from reports of Prosser's death.
Prosser ate lunch the previous day with his predecessor as Wake Forest coach, then University of South Carolina
coach Dave Odom
. Prosser then ate dinner with his son Mark, who was also in Florida recruiting, before flying to North Carolina Thursday morning.
Two funeral masses were held for Prosser. The first was on July 31, 2007 at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Clemmons, North Carolina
, near the campus of Wake Forest University (due to seating limitations, this service was televised by closed circuit television to Wait Chapel
on the Wake Forest campus). The second mass was held on August 4, 2007 at the Cintas Center
on the campus of Xavier University in Cincinnati. Prosser was then buried at the Spring Grove Cemetery
in Cincinnati.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
coach who was head men's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
coach at Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
at the time of his death. He was the only coach in NCAA history to take three separate schools to the NCAA Tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
in his first year coaching the teams. In 21 years as a collegiate coach, he made 18 postseason appearances.
Previously, he coached Xavier University
Xavier University (Cincinnati)
Xavier University is a co-educational Jesuit university in the United States located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The University is the sixth-oldest Catholic university in the nation and has an undergraduate enrollment of about 4,000 students and graduate enrollment of 2,600 students. Xavier is primarily...
for seven seasons, where he achieved great success. He spent his first year of coaching at the collegiate level at Loyola College in Maryland, where he took the Greyhounds to the team's only modern-day NCAA Tournament appearance.
Prosser was the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year
Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year
The Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year is a basketball award given to head coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference . The award is granted to the head coach voted to be the most successful that season by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association...
in 2003. His teams have at times been participants in the NCAA Tournament in March, although Wake Forest did not participate in the 2006 or 2007 seasons.
Early life
Prosser was born and raised in the Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Carnegie
Carnegie, Pennsylvania
Carnegie is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 7,972 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Carnegie is located at . It is approximately southwest of Pittsburgh...
and graduated from Carnegie High School, where he played football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and basketball. He played basketball and rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
at the United States Merchant Marine Academy
United States Merchant Marine Academy
The United States Merchant Marine Academy is one of the five United States Service academies...
where he earned a degree in nautical science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
in 1972.
Prosser coached at Linsly Military Institute in Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, where he achieved a 38–9 record. He then was hired as a history teacher at Wheeling Central Catholic High School
Wheeling Central Catholic High School
Wheeling Central Catholic High School is a parochial, Roman Catholic high school in Wheeling, West Virginia. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.-Graduation Requirements:*English - 4 credits*Social Science - 4 credits...
, where he coached his teams to a state championship in 1982, five regional championships and three conference titles over a period of six years and a record of 104-48. Prosser would say later in his career that he would be happy if he were still teaching and coaching at Central Catholic High. One of the players on his championship team was Doug Wojcik
Doug Wojcik
-References:...
, now head coach at the University of Tulsa
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...
. Prosser earned his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in secondary education from West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
while he taught at Wheeling Central.
Coaching
Prosser coached 15 seasons as head coach at the collegiate level. He began his college coaching career when he was hired by Coach Pete GillenPete Gillen
Pete Gillen is an American former college basketball head coach of the Division I Xavier Musketeers, Providence Friars and Virginia Cavaliers and is a member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame...
as an assistant coach for eight seasons at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, starting with the 1985–1986 season, and he became Gillen's top assistant.
Prosser began as head coach at Loyola in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, a team which he coached to a 17–13 record and its only NCAA tournament berth. The previous year, the team had finished 2–25.
Xavier then hired Prosser to take over for his former boss Gillen as head coach when Gillen left for Providence. Prosser became the second-winningest coach in Xavier history after Gillen.
Prosser began his career at Wake Forest in 2001 and led the Demon Deacons to the NCAA tournament in each of his first four years there. Prosser is credited for sparking participation in the Wake Forest student Screamin' Demons and increasing attendance with game-time antics, like having the Demon Deacon mascot enter Lawrence Joel on a Harley Davidson and filling the coliseum with Zombie Nation
Zombie Nation (band)
Zombie Nation is a German techno and electro project of the Munich based DJ and producer Florian Senfter.-History:The first Zombie Nation five track EP was released in the spring of 1999 on DJ Hell's label, International DeeJay Gigolo Records...
's "Kernkraft 400
Kernkraft 400
"Kernkraft 400" is a song performed by German techno and electro artist Zombie Nation and the first single from their album Leichenschmaus. The first Zombie Nation record contained the song "Kernkraft 400", German for "Nuclear Energy 400", which is a remix of a tune from the 1984 Commodore 64 game...
" at tip-off and when the Deacons would go on a run. During Prosser's tenure as head coach, home season tickets sold out for the first time ever in 2004. During the 2004–2005 season, the team was ranked #1 by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
for the first time in the school's history and won a school-record 27 games. At Wake Forest, Prosser won 100 games faster than all but two ACC coaches. In 2003, his Demon Deacons squad became the first from the ACC to ever lead the nation in rebounding
Rebound (basketball)
A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...
. In the summer of 2007, Prosser had organized what was said to be a top-five recruiting class for the upcoming year.
Prosser was the collegiate coach of current or former NBA players Aaron Williams
Aaron Williams
Aaron Williams is an American former professional basketball player. He played at the power forward and center positions.-Basketball career:...
, James Posey
James Posey
James Mikely Mantell Posey, Jr. is an American professional basketball player, currently a small forward for the Indiana Pacers of the NBA.-Early life:...
, David West
David West (basketball)
David Moorer West is an American professional basketball player who has most recently played with the NBA's New Orleans Hornets...
, Josh Howard
Josh Howard
Joshua Jay Howard is an American professional basketball player who most recently played for the NBA's Washington Wizards. At and , he plays as a small forward.-High school:...
, Darius Songaila
Darius Songaila
Darius Songaila is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. He is also a member of the Lithuania national team. He can play power forward and center positions. He currently plays for Galatasaray Medical Park in Turkey....
and Chris Paul
Chris Paul
Christopher Emmanuel Paul is an American professional basketball point guard for the New Orleans Hornets.Paul was born and raised in North Carolina. Despite only playing two varsity basketball seasons in high school, he was a McDonald's All-American and accepted a scholarship with nearby Wake...
; he won national recruiting wars for Paul and Eric Williams. He amassed a career record of 291–146 (.666).
Every senior that Prosser coached earned his degree in four years.
Coaching style
His teams were known for their fast tempo and offensive explosiveness.During his last two troubling seasons, he would quote Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
, Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
, Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
or William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
to his players to inspire them. The spring semester prior to summer exhibition tours, Prosser would require that every member of his team take a one-credit class on the history of the place they would be visiting. He would also attend the class and write the required term paper.
Personal life
Prosser and his wife Nancy had two sons, Scott and Mark. However, Nancy is not the mother of his 2 children, Scott and Mark, who are instead from his first marriage to Ruth Charles. Skip and Nancy Prosser met in Cincinnati. Mark is an assistant coach for Wofford CollegeWofford College
Established in 1854 and related to the United Methodist Church, Wofford College is an independent, Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts college of 1,525 students located in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. The historic campus is recognized as a national arboretum and features “The...
.
An avid sports fan, Prosser was a follower of the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
since childhood and would often find sports bars to watch their games while on the road. He was at Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
to witness the Immaculate Reception
Immaculate Reception
The Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
. He also saw Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest of seven children. Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in...
's 3,000th and final hit, and the last game ever played at Three Rivers Stadium. He once hitchhiked
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
across the country.
Prosser earned a reputation in college basketball for a keen intellect and sense of humor. He enjoyed reading the books of Robert Ludlum
Robert Ludlum
Robert Ludlum was an American author of 23 thriller novels. The number of his books in print is estimated between 290–500 million copies. They have been published in 33 languages and 40 countries. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.-Life and...
, along with biographies and books on history, philosophy and politics. The athletic director at Loyola, Joe Boylan, said that Prosser was a "renaissance man
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
coaching basketball." Former Xavier player Dwayne Wilson said, "He always liked to read history books, so he was always quoting something – whether it be Winston Churchill or another great author – he was always quoting somebody on something."
Prosser stated, in an interview that aired just after his death, that his favorite quote was from Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
: "He was a transcendentalist
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s in the New England region of the United States as a protest against the general state of culture and society, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian...
in America in the 1830s who said `Our chief want in life is someone who will make us do what we can.' I thought that was a powerful statement that we need to be around people who challenge us to be as good as we can be."
Death
On July 26, 2007, Prosser collapsed in his office around noon after joggingJogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running.-Definition:...
at the Kentner Stadium
Kentner Stadium
Kentner Stadium is a multi-use stadium located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on the campus of Wake Forest University. Kertner Stadium serves as home to the Demon Deacons track and field and field hockey teams...
track adjacent to his office in the Manchester Athletic Center on Wake Forest's campus. A staff member found him unresponsive around 12:45 pm; medical personnel performed CPR and used a defibrillator in efforts to revive Prosser. He was rushed to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is a teaching hospital located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is the largest employer in Forsyth County with over 11,000 employees at its main location, and a total of 100 buildings on , including a 196-acre research farm and a research center downtown.The...
, where he was pronounced dead at 1:41 pm from an apparent "sudden massive heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
". He was 56 years old.
The announcement of Prosser's death was delayed until later in the day because his wife was traveling to Cincinnati and had not yet been reached. Players were gathered and taken to an off-campus location without their cell phones to guard them from reports of Prosser's death.
Prosser ate lunch the previous day with his predecessor as Wake Forest coach, then University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
coach Dave Odom
Dave Odom
Dave Odom is a retired American men's college basketball coach, who most recently coached at the University of South Carolina...
. Prosser then ate dinner with his son Mark, who was also in Florida recruiting, before flying to North Carolina Thursday morning.
Two funeral masses were held for Prosser. The first was on July 31, 2007 at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Clemmons, North Carolina
Clemmons, North Carolina
Clemmons is a village in Forsyth County, North Carolina and a suburb of Winston-Salem. The population was 18,627 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Clemmons is located at ....
, near the campus of Wake Forest University (due to seating limitations, this service was televised by closed circuit television to Wait Chapel
Wait Chapel
Wait Chapel is a building on the campus of Wake Forest University. It houses the Janet Jeffrey Carlile Harris Carillon of 48 bells. The chapel seats 2,250 people. The steeple reaches to 213 feet. It also houses the Williams Organ, donated by Walter McAdoo Williams, namesake of Walter M...
on the Wake Forest campus). The second mass was held on August 4, 2007 at the Cintas Center
Cintas Center
Cintas Center is a 10,250 seat multi-purpose arena and conference center at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The arena officially opened in 2000 and was constructed through private donations as part of Xavier University's Century Campaign...
on the campus of Xavier University in Cincinnati. Prosser was then buried at the Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit garden cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the second largest cemetery in the United States and is recognized as a U.S. National Historic Landmark....
in Cincinnati.