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Skip Prosser, the coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, died Thursday.

George Edward “Skip” Prosser was born Nov. 3, 1950, in Pittsburgh. A 1972 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Prosser earned his master’s degree in secondary education from West Virginia in 1980 while he was a high school coach. He joined the Xavier staff as an assistant before the 1985-86 season, spending eight years on the bench there.

Prosser averaged nearly 24 wins in his first four seasons at Wake Forest — including a school-record 27 in 2005 — with his up-tempo offense. But after Paul left for the NBA after his sophomore year, Prosser’s last two teams struggled to a combined 32-33 record, including 8-24 in the ACC, with youth-laden teams.

Prosser was excited about recent commitments from several highly regarded recruits, said Pete Gillen, who hired Prosser as an assistant at Xavier and coached against Prosser while at Virginia.

“He was a lot smarter than me at Xavier and he was twice as smart at Wake,” said Gillen, who lost five of eight ACC meetings with Prosser. “I felt bad when he beat me. I felt bad when I beat him. It was a lose-lose.”

Prosser is survived by his wife, Nancy, and sons, Scott and Mark. Mark Prosser is an assistant coach at Bucknell.

Jon Terry, a Bucknell team spokesman, said Mark Prosser had been on the road recruiting but had traveled to North Carolina on Thursday afternoon.

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