Feb. 19, 2002

Skip Prosser, in his first season as the Wake Forest head coach, is one of 20 finalists for the prestigious Naismith College Coach of the Year award. The announcement was made in Atlanta, home of the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

Prosser is 18-8 in his first year at Wake, 183-86 in nine seasons overall as a head coach. He has reached several superlatives in his rookie season with the Deacons:

- Only three first-year coaches in the 49-year history of the ACC won more league games in their rookie season than Prosser. Wake is 8-4 in ACC play. - Prosser is the first rookie coach at Wake Forest to earn a winning record since James Baldwin led the Deacons to a 22-3 record in his first season in 1927. - He is the first rookie WFU coach ever to win on the road against UNC and NC State in the same season. - Prosser's Deacons have remained in the national polls for 13 consecutive weeks. - Wake Forest has won more games against nationally-ranked teams (three) than any Deacon team since 1996-97.

Prosser is one of four ACC coaches on the list of finalist. He joins Virginia's Pete Gillen, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Maryland's Gary Williams.

The award will be presented April 5.

Naismith College Basketball Coach of the Year Finalists:
Perry Clark, Miami
Tom Crean, Marquette
Billy Donovan, Florida
Mark Few, Gonzaga
Pete Gillen, Virginia
Mark Gottfried, Alabama
Ben Howland, Pittsburgh
Bob Huggins, Cincinnati
Ernie Kent, Oregon
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke
Mike Montgomery, Stanford
Jim O'Brien, Ohio State
Lute Olson, Arizona
SKIP PROSSER, WAKE FOREST
Kelvin Sampson, Oklahoma
Bill Self, Illinois
Tubby Smith, Kentucky
Eddie Sutton, Oklahoma State
Gary Williams, Maryland
Roy Williams, Kansas