Pitt Would Have Made Prosser Proud
In that I’m picking Pittsburgh to win the national championship, I hope to see the Panthers play a lot of basketball over the next three weeks. They’re a hard-nosed, experienced team with big hearts, and seem to be to be the most overlooked of all the four No. 1 seeds. Doesn’t matter who I go with anyway. I’m wrong every season.
But I can’t watch Pitt play without ruminating over how head coach Jamie Dixon got the job in the first place. Dixon has done a marvelous job for which he would never have to apologize, but the only reason he was promoted from his position as an assistant was because Skip Prosser couldn’t make himself do what he really wanted to do, which is follow his heart home.
I never discussed the decision with Prosser. Like most of his counterparts on his profession, the generally forthcoming Prosser clammed up pretty tight when the subject strayed toward the particulars of his livelihood. Even when Wake Forest held a press conference in spring of 2003 to announce that Prosser would remain at Wake, Prosser steadfastly declined to acknowledge that he had even been contacted by Pittsburgh after Ben Howland left for UCLA.
But he had, and we all knew it. It was too much of a natural for it not the be true.
It often took only two or three minutes of being around Prosser to learn how deep and abiding his love for his hometown truly was. He would tell you all about seeing Roberto Clemente gun runners down from right field in old Forbes Field, or being in Three Rivers Stadium on the miraculous day of Franco Harris’ Immaculate Reception. He was born in raised in nearby Carnegie, and considered himself a Pittsburgh guy through a through.
“It’s my hometown,’’ Prosser said. “I have a lifelong love affair with the city of Pittsburgh. It’s my home.’‘
Another time he waxed poetically about Pittsburgh to Joe Posnanski, who was at the time a sports columnist with the Cincinnati Post in the mid-1990s while Prosser was coaching at Xavier.
“It’s the most beautiful sight in the world,’’ Prosser declared.
Posnanski demurred, mentioning “You know, there’s Paris in the springtime, there’s 17 Mile Drive in Monterrey, there’s the Sydney Opera House overlooking the water. . . ‘’
Prosser cut him off with ``Give me Pittsburgh at night.’‘
In the spring of 2003 Prosser had Pittsburgh for his taking. All he had to do was say yes, and his dream job of coaching the Panthers of the Big East in their new, rocking 12,508-seat, on-campus arena, the Petersen Events Center, would have been realized. The case can be made that he wouldn’t have done as well as Dixon, in that Prosser never proved he could instill a team with the kind of defensive focus and intensity (the trademark of Dixon’s best teams) needed to advance deep in tournaments. But the question is moot because Prosser turned his dream job down.
Again, he never acknowledged an offer, much less discussed why he said no. But I was lucky to get to know Prosser well enough to come up with a couple of educated guesses.
Prosser, in the spring of 2003, was as fired up about the prospects for Wake Forest basketball as a coach can be. The Deacons had just won the ACC regular season behind the remarkable talents of senior Josh Howard. And though Howard was on his way out the door to the NBA, his supporting cast of sophomores Vytas Danelius, Jamaal Levy and Taron Downey and freshmen Justin Gray, Eric Williams and Trent Strickland was returning virtually intact. Plus Prosser had just recruited a pretty decent point guard from just down the road at West Forsyth, and Chris Paul is not an easy player to walk away from.
He’d spent two years building Wake into a conference, if not national, power, and he wanted to see the fruits of his labor.
But that’s Prosser the coach. My own sense was that Prosser, the man, couldn’t make himself leave Wake Forest after just two seasons. If it had been four or five, he could have convinced himself he had filled enough of whatever commitment he felt toward Wake to leave for his dream job. But if he’d left after two, people could have said that he left Wake hanging, and they might have been right.
Prosser was very much about doing not what was easy, but what was right. So while one might say that Prosser’s love affair with his hometown was star-crossed, the other way of looking at is Prosser couldn’t return to Pittsburgh because, in his heart, he never left.
And that’s what I’ll see when I watch Pittsburgh march to the 2011 national championship.
Back to the main page.
By Dan Collins on 03/15/2011 (3:11 pm)
Comments
Oops. Well, it takes some luck to make it through the NCAA BB tournament - and Pitt did not get any of that to say the least.
Now that Pitt is gone - how about an update on Jamie Skeen? He’s as close to the tournament as WFU is likely to get for a few years. I always liked the way he played while he was here.
Just an idea. Thanks.
BRHDeac on 03/21/2011 (2:43 pm)
I hate to make any comparisons to Skip, but if there was anyone coaching today that seems to match his fiery and quirky personality I would say it would be Bruce Pearl. Both are guys who stick to their guns and have an entertaining but commanding way of leading their teams. And if the rumors are correct, Bruce Pearl is about to be looking for a new job…
Gary on 03/19/2011 (11:38 am)
Coach Prosser was not only a great coach, he was a good human being. He had many great qualities. The only fault I can think that he had was that he was so good at what he did it was easy to take him for granted. I think this last year for Wake basketball shows just how important he was to the University and the WFU Basketball Program.
Craig Carter on 03/18/2011 (4:27 pm)
Everyone check out the new Wake sports boards!!!
http://www.ogboards.com/forums/index.php
New Wake Sports Boards on 03/17/2011 (1:00 pm)
It’s okay Ken. My hatred for a certain #1 seed would have me pulling for Iran, or Libya if they were their opponent. If we all liked the same teams, life would certainly get boring very quickly. Have a nice day.
Ferd Fisher on 03/17/2011 (8:29 am)
Memphis Slim you mentioned Skip’s loyalty and it reminded Mrs. Deac Fan that one of the follow-up stories on why Skip chose to stay at Wake (besides his wife and kids) was that he was so moved by the Wake Community’s desire for him to stay that he couldn’t walk away. The article left the impression that if Skip hadn’t been taken too soon he’d still be the head coach of Wake because after the outpouring of affection from the tie-die nation he was hooked for life. It’s just sad that his life was so short.
GO DEACS!
Deac Fan on 03/17/2011 (8:13 am)
Skip measured the dictates of loyalty & devotion ahead of that of his own personal longings. He was devoted to a cause & would see it through. He brought men with him from Xavier who were loyal & devoted to Skip, such as Dino & Coach Battle, both of whom had been with him many years. Skip would never have jumped from Air Force after 2 years or Colorado after 3 years & left those programs hanging, particularly Air Force. Skip’s culture was that of loyalty & not looking around for & jumping to the next job opportunity, even one to his beloved Pittsburgh. Only death could take him away from the job.
memphisslim on 03/16/2011 (11:14 pm)
I always enjoy a good Skip Prosser story. He was a character. I like to joke that I stopped going to mass because Skip would come into mass (late)in a sweaty Wake Forest sweatsuit and sit down next to me. It was cool to be a student in the Skip Prosser era.
John Sanders on 03/16/2011 (10:19 pm)
Ferd,
I understand what you’re saying but my hatred for that certain #2 seed forces me to pull against ‘em regardless of their opponent. Their ouster means more to me than any $$$ WFU could receive! Plus, their fans will shut up and be as quiet as a sleeping baby!
Ken Green on 03/16/2011 (1:40 pm)
It should also be noted that when VCU exits the Tourney, it will represent the final game for the Jamie Skeen, the only remaining player in the NCAA (at least as far as I know) who played for Skip.
Logan on 03/16/2011 (12:45 pm)
Dan, what a nice article to read. Thanks for reminding us of what we had. I was in the Pittsburg airport years ago, changing planes when I saw Skip sitting at a mostly deserted gate, reading. I thought about not disturbing him, but couldn’t resist walking up to him and saying hi. When I approached and called out his name, he put his book down, stood up and shook my hand. After a few words, I apologized for interrupting his reading and went on to my gate, but I’ll never forget how gracious he was and how he made me feel I was the most important person in that airport at that moment. I hope that the “change in culture” that Wellman wants has nothing to do with Skip.
Jim on 03/16/2011 (9:27 am)
Dan,
Wonderful story about Prosser. Write about him anytime, too; after all, he made the “dream live on.” He fitted Wake like a glove fits a hand, in the storied tradtioin and the best of “characters” at Wake. And there is a great reastaurant on top the hill in Pittsburgh, that at night has an awesome view.
bobby h griffin on 03/16/2011 (9:25 am)
Ken. Pull for whoever you want. Just be glad that a certain #2 seed splits their tourney money with Wake. That’s about the only way Wake will get any money from the post season in the forseeable future.
Ferd Fisher on 03/16/2011 (8:14 am)
Dan,
I remember driving from Albemarle to stand in a crowd that was begging Skip to stay! We all knew he loved Pittsburgh and had the chance of a lifetime. You knew him far better than I but my sense was that he had come to love W-S and Wake Forest. His players (all very good) helped as well. Skip did stay and became one of WFU’s best ambassadors. In this NCAA tournament, I’m pulling for Clemson, Fla State and Duke but definitely not for that certain #2 seed! I’m also pulling for Chris Mack and Xavier but, after reading this, remain numb on Pittsburgh. Skip never took the job so it really makes no difference to me if they win or lose, EXCEPT if they meet that certain #2 seed mentioned before.
Ken Green on 03/15/2011 (9:12 pm)
Even after all these years Skip and I still disagree on a high level. He states “Pittsburgh is the most beautiful place in the world”...No Skip finding a parking spot at Carnegie Mellon when school is in. That is “the most beautiful place in the world”.... I’m sure he just smiled and said he would give me that one.
Doug on 03/15/2011 (8:22 pm)
Great blog Dan. As I Pittsburgh guy myself, Pitt Alum and season ticket holder I recall there was both excitement and disagreement back in ‘03 about who should be the next Pitt Basketball Coach. Ben Howland had put Pitt back on the proverbial college basketball map and there was a throng of fans who thought the program had come too far to be turned over to an unproven assistant. Many Pitt fans wanted Skip to take the job and it was common knowledge that it was his for the taking. The Pitt players really wanted Jamie Dixon and when Skip turned it down the Pitt Administration wasted little time in offering it to Jamie.
The story from those close to the Pitt program was that Skip really wanted to come here but his wife and children wanted to stay at Wake. They had grown very fond of Wake and it had become home to the Prosser Family. As one prominent sportscaster said at the time, “Skip’s from Pittsburgh but his wife isn’t”.
In hindsight all parties made the right decision. Pittsburghers, regardless of the sport, love DEFENSE. Skip was known as an offensive coach. Jamie Dixon has done a tremendous job of instilling defense, toughness and discipline which is why Pitt has been able to sustain such a successful program during his tenure. He’s the youngest coach in the history of college basketball to reach as many wins in his first eight seasons.
Ironically Coach Bzdelik recently stated he wants to build his Wake Program the same way Dixon has built his program at Pitt. In fact it was in one of your articles a couple of weeks ago. That remains to be seen but as a Deac Fan (and a Pitt fan) I wish him all the best.
Again, great blog Dan!
Deac Fan on 03/15/2011 (6:22 pm)
Dan,
I can not join you in rooting for Pitt. I guess I’m too much of an ACC fan for that. But I do join you in celebrating the memory of Coach Prosser, particularly for the way he built Wake into a contender, both on the conference and national levels. When I hear talk of a new “culture” at Wake, I see that as an veiled effort to repudiate what Skip accomplished, and frankly, I am put off by it. Thank you for reminding us all about what a class act Skip was. The contrast to the present incumbent is not hard to miss.
Lee on 03/15/2011 (4:41 pm)
Thanks, Dan, for reminding us of what was so special about Coach Prosser.
Steve on 03/15/2011 (4:19 pm)
Page 1 of 1 pages
