Childress Steps Up to Mic
Two Wake Forest graduates who just couldn’t leave their alma mater for good will be courtside for tonight’s exhibition basketball game with Ferrum. Seeings how both are good friends, I’m glad neither could stay away.
Evan Lepler, class of 2007, does play-by-play for the Salem Red Sox of the Carolina League in the summer Sharon High Grad Makes Good, but returns to town in the offseason to work for IMG College. Among his many duties is calling cybercasts of basketball games that are streamed on wakeforestsports.com He emailed me to say he’s particularly excited about tonight’s broadcast, and for good reason.
Randolph Childress, class of 1995, will join him to do color on the Deacons-Panthers tilt. From what I remember about Childress when he played at Wake, it should be entertaining. Of all the Wake athletes I’ve covered, Childress was the ultimate go-to guy both on the court and in the locker room afterward (back when we could actually get in the locker room for interviews). He always had something to say and he was never afraid to say it. Ernie Nestor, another favorite of mine who was an assistant coach at Wake twice (1979-85 and 1993-2001) once said of Josh Howard that if you didn’t want the truth, don’t ask Josh a question. I found the same to be true with Childress.
Lepler reminds me that Childress won’t be making his debut. While rehabilitating from a knee injury during the 1991-92 season, Childress provided color of one game. But as it turned out the Deacons lost, and coach Dave Odom, being the superstitious guy that he was, pulled the plug on Childress’ mic and made him sit on the bench the rest of the season.
Having a legend’s legend like Childress back at Wake has been fun, and I imagine Lepler, and all his listeners, are in for a big time tonight.