Skip Prosser’s Death Tough For Everyone in College Basketball Including Buckeyes Thad Matta

By Adam Kiefaber

Wake Forest basketball coach Skip Prosser, who lead Xavier University to a 148-65 record during his seven-year stint as head coach, died yesterday of an apparent heart attack. He was 56.

Director of basketball operations Mike Muse found Prosser was found slumped on his office couch and unresponsive shortly after Prosser returned from his noon jog, according to athletics director Ron Wellman.

When Prosser left Xavier to coach Wake Forest, current Ohio State coach Thad Matta took over the job that quickly redirected him to Columbus. Matta released a statement after hearing of the loss.

“We just lost one of the all-time great people in coaching. Skip Prosser was a great coach and an even better human being. He was one of the most helpful people I’ve ever been around. While I was at Xavier, Coach Prosser was the first person I’d call if I had a problem. He knew instantly where to steer me to help me succeed. When I was considering the job at Ohio State he gave me advice throughout the process. He told me he would crawl to Ohio State to take the job.”