news
Finding A Way Forward Through Grief Join us for support starting at
12:00 noon
Friday • March 6 Lunch & bereavement program provided free of charge. OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY for more information call
828.452. 5039
HAYWOOD HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE
WCU men’s basketball coach Mark Prosser (center-right) counsels players during a recent game. Ashley Evans/WCU photo
Pick Up a
Medical Thriller
(face mask not included)
Magazines - Newspapers 428 HAZELWOOD Ave. 12
Catamounts hope to continue basketball turnaround BY TODD VINYARD CONTRIBUTING WRITER estern Carolina University basketball has been using the hashtag #ItsComing on social media this season to describe year two under head coach Mark Prosser. After a Catamount season featuring an improvement of eleven wins from seven to 18, maybe they might want to prepare for #ItsHere. The number of victories turnaround by the Cats from last season equals the best jump in the country; however, Prosser says his team and program keep building toward the goals of Southern Conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. The Catamounts have moved up on the Southern Conference ladder and now know the next step is climbing into the elite part of the league with the top four teams. Last year, four teams — ETSU, Furman, UNCG, and Wofford — earned postseason invites the previous season to mark the 11th consecutive year multiple league teams received postseason bids. Prosser says the year two progress in the program has come as players feel more comfortable. “We have a great group of kids who play the game very unselfishly,” Prosser said. “I think this year you have seen their comfort
W
Smoky Mountain News
March 4-10, 2020
43 Bowman Dr., Waynesville
Waynesville • 456-6000
level improve with what we do and what we want to do. Last year, we were putting in our system of how we wanted to play, and you see that take shape now. Coaches often say they have great kids, but it is a genuine thing here. Our players have been ready to work from day one.” Prosser learned a work ethic from his father Skip Prosser, who area college basketball fans will remember as the head coach at Wake Forest, where he had a 126-68 coaching record over six years. Skip knew about turnarounds like his son has led at Western Carolina this year, having taken three separate schools to the NCAA Tournament in his first year of coaching them. He was also famous for never taking credit himself and always giving it to the players and staff, something Mark Prosser does as well. “I was fortunate to see how my dad did things and the way he ran a program, made recruiting calls, and how that all worked,” Prosser said. “The importance of the people around you and importance of relationships was obvious watching him.” Skip Prosser died suddenly from an apparent heart attack at age 56 in 2007. There has been time since the tragedy, yet it was clear from a Tweet at @MarkProsser15 sent by Mark Prosser following the recent death of basketball star Kobe Bryant, his
daughter, and others in a helicopter crash that he knows what that pain of loss. The Prosser tweet read — “I know that call, that feeling that comes when your world changes in an instant. I know the titles that matter to those who receive it in that moment are Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother, Husband, Wife, etc. Not Player. Not Coach. Pray for those in California and all that get that call!” Mark Prosser was beginning his basketball coaching journey when that devasting call came, so the father and son never had the chance to share his time as a head coach. The impact a coach can have on others is something Mark Prosser learned for his dad and continues to see even after his father passed away. During the Catamounts visit to Wake Forest last year, where they came back from 18 points down before losing 71-64, Demon Deacon point guard Brandon Childress took time to tell Mark Prosser that while he didn’t know him, it was an honor to play against his team. Childress told the Winston-Salem Journal afterward: “I can remember, I was in the passenger seat leaving camp or school at the time, my mom told me Skip Prosser passed away, and I was hurt. To this day, I feel like if he were still here on this earth, he would be the head coach. And it wouldn’t have changed. If I would have got the opportunity to come to Wake Forest to play for Skip Prosser, I would. I wouldn’t even hesitate, just because of the history that he has here and the relationships he built. … I just told (Mark Prosser), ‘Hey, it’s an honor to play against you and your team.”
