Wake Forest hoops coach dies
Skip Prosser, 56, apparently suffered a heart attack in his office after jogging.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Skip Prosser, who led Wake Forest to its first No. 1 ranking in basketball three seasons ago, died yesterday of an apparent heart attack, the university said. He was 56.
Mr. Prosser was unresponsive when he was found slumped on his office couch by director of basketball operations Mike Muse shortly after returning from his noon jog, athletic director Ron Wellman said. Medical personnel performed CPR and used a defibrillator on Mr. Prosser, who was taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and pronounced dead at 1:41 p.m.
Wellman said he was unaware of any previous health issues for Mr. Prosser, calling his death "a devastating loss."
William Applegate, the dean of the university medical school, said the events were "typical of a sudden, massive heart attack."
Mr. Prosser spent six seasons with the Demon Deacons, winning an Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title in 2003 and reaching the NCAA tournament in his first four seasons. Wake Forest went to No. 1 for the first time during the 2004-05 season.
Chris Paul, who went on to star in the NBA, was the point guard on that team. "His passing is a tremendous loss for the entire Wake Forest community," Paul said in a statement. "He played a very significant role in my life, and his influence extended well beyond the game of basketball."
Before arriving in Winston-Salem, Mr. Prosser was head coach at Xavier for seven seasons and at Loyola of Maryland for one.
Mr. Prosser had a career record of 291-146 as a head coach, including 126-68 with Wake Forest. He coached future NBA stars Paul and Josh Howard, and was the ACC coach of the year in 2003.
Ohio State coach Thad Matta, who replaced Mr. Prosser at Xavier in 2001, called him "one of the all-time great people in coaching."
George Edward "Skip" Prosser was born Nov. 3, 1950, in Pittsburgh. A 1972 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Mr. Prosser earned his master's degree in secondary education from West Virginia in 1980 while he was a high school coach.
Mr. Prosser is survived by his wife, Nancy, and sons Scott and Mark (an assistant coach at Bucknell).