Wake Forest Hoops Coach Dead at 56

Wake Forest basketball coach Skip Prosser, who led the Demon Deacons to their only top national ranking, died in his office yesterday after apparently suffering a heart attack. The 56-year-old collapsed and couldn't be resuscitated, the News and Observer reports. Praise flowed for the witty, literate Prosser, beloved for his role as a teacher as much as his on-court success.

"It is hard to imagine this community without him," university president Nathan O. Hatch said. "He was an infectious learner and teacher on and off the court." "He was like a father figure to me and other guys on the team," ex-player Justin Gray told the Charlotte Observer. "He wanted to bring us along as young men the right way." (More Wake Forest University stories.)