Jeff Bzdelik has announced the promotion of Randolph Childress to the role of assistant coach. Childress will replace Walt Corbean, who served six years on the Wake Forest basketball staff. Childress just completed his second year at Wake Forest, serving as the Director of Player Development during the 2012-13 season. The move will allow Childress to have an active role in recruiting and coaching student-athletes, with none of the participation restrictions of his previous position.
Wake Forest fans will no doubt be supportive of this move by Bzdelik. Childress is one of the most beloved basketball players in Wake Forest history, a sharpshooting guard whose toughness, determination and confidence led the Deacons to the 1995 ACC Championship. In the process, Childress shattered the ACC Tournament scoring record by pouring in 107 points over the course of three games.
Childress will now share the same responsibilities as assistant coaches Jeff Battle and Rusty Larue, with the first order of business being recruiting.
"We're not in season yet, but obviously recruiting has started," Childress told Blogger So Dear. "I'm gathering up some information on some prospects for when we're allowed to get out and take a look at some guys on the road."
Childress was hired initially in 2011 as a special assistant to AD Ron Wellman, an administrative position that focused on fund-raising and mentoring of student-athletes. Bzdelik then added him as the Director of Player Development prior to last season. Some Wake Forest supporters have been vocal about increasing Childress' role with the team, as the team has struggled over the past three seasons and at limes lacked the toughness of the Deaon teams of the mid-Nineties.
Childress welcomes the opportunity finally to take an active on-court role with his alma mater:
"It's been a dream," he said. "It's been an amazing ride so far and it continues to get better. I'm trying to keep it all in perspective and continue to work. It's no time for celebration, it's just time to get to work."
