John Currie Interview (5-4-20)

The weekend Wake Forest introduced Steve Forbes as its next head basketball coach and since then we just heard glowing praise from all across college basketball universe including Wichita State coach Greg Marshall who was on Friday shall we expect to be joined by coach Forbes tomorrow but right now would be enjoyed by the director of athletics for the Demon deacons John Curry, so let's start here. John and the times always appreciated. Who was the architect on the viral medical facemask spike video we saw Thursday night. I claim that I will like 750,000 of years now all and yes it was on, and other people are commenting about the technical quality of an electron. Bottom line is all the excitement you keep wearing our masks won't be back to BB&T Field and Joe called on to solve this winter, but I'm glad it turned out in good stead.

How would you describe the relationship you and cokes for shared in Knoxville and has that relationship and sustained since then and I were wrong and work together became their 2007, eight, nine, for the first time in forever 30 years or whatever, 2008 16 together with Charlie because we had to work together through 2009 to go to Kansas State all I really like you know you regular text buddies or something like that will just know each other and respect each other and then conduct a long week. We may be connected here.

All of his career he's always had the ability to connect with people.

As I said before, Josh and I just wanted people that that the true care about other people. Now that in 2000.

We were together, and our member he was scouting all game playing where they do not gain work plan Kentucky and the next game. And so, we talked about during our game that yes I do remember that Wichita State went undefeated during the regular season and you guys ran up against that Aaron Harrison team that cemented up.

I think going to the final four.

That year, but I have often said John went ever. During a time of crisis, you generally lean on people you trust people that you know and I am I'm interested during a pandemic and how it limited travel. How much did that trust that you had with Forbes. Knowing him, differentiate him from some of the other candidates you consider all I can do that we we seriously that you know what you have you been around for a while like I have got some pretty a lot of people you run into a lot of people in need can triangulate relationship character go out somebody treats the building and all that kind of stuff that all important and certainly trust in his character, and in those things but but I had no similar knowledge about. Obviously, whenever you're trying to fill a basketball position is everything at the supplement J.

Bella said last week on the shelf so obviously Wake Forest is a private institution which is not something that's really been on Ford's resume quite yet and you have to recruit Wake Forest in the ACC differently than you do say at East Tennessee State where he could, Duco players. He addressed a lot of that in the press conference on Friday but what stood out to you from some of the answers he gave during the during the interview process that led you to believe all Mandy's arc of the problems of coach Forbes why why we had a pretty broad group of Wake Forest meeting and.

How all of our candidates are related to the questions or Provost Kirsch imposed upon our candidates because I was more committed Wake Forest that you're going to be part of the plot plot and show you the questions and answers the question of the different candidates. Very helpful, especially as those questions came from people that spend more of their time on academic enterprise than the applicant certainly answer those questions and remembers well the God of your career kind of places you are I help you understand the context in which your computer so keep in mind that C4 Texas A&M is an AAU mission is both a and integrating the Wake Forest don't but it but a great location and a yellow significant public company, much better director.

You know, people can judge whether or not but I'm better than I would be if I had never worked at the statement goes, those 19 years in public education gave me a much better feel for the challenges and the opportunities that exist for our competing in a 65 where with the numbers for University think something like that or public university, so got so having an understanding of that world being inside it is very helpful in piggybacking off of that when he was at Tennessee. He was a point man in many of the recruits that they brought in in 2008 had a top 10 class MMX top 10 recruiting class and of course for the first time in Tennessee history at the time, 2800 the number one ranking as well so it is a very deep background that he has, but you were talking about some of the people of Wake Forest of the luminary. Some of the alarms got involved in the process last week and I just want to follow on something that generated steam on Thursday. What details can you share with me about how Tim Duncan and Chris Paul became involved throughout the year. In assessing our program and I'm trying to make sure that I understood our opportunities. I talk a lot different colors certainly are our stakeholders to complete the program so it was important to get feedback and sometimes that back over the course of the year came unsolicited solicited and certainly have input engagement in our process last week with their greatest players. Like parsley right was very helpful and I really appreciate the time the willingness to invest time with the dungarees with this year, the director of athletics at Wake Forest.

I got asked about this.

Jeff Goodman had the report that Wake Forest doesn't feel it's responsible for the full extent of Danny Manning's buyout siding failures to meet criteria out of respect for your department's policy declined to comment on contracts refrain from asking about any specifics there instead of just asking this. Do you believe Danny Manning fulfilled his duties as Wake Forest basketball will I do? You and I can't comment on our contracts and I don't don't mind your responsibility to let's get to something that I thinks obviously affecting many sports fans up and everybody's thinking about based on the information you're privy to. How optimistic are you about college football being played on schedule this fall.com optimistic and I'll be a believer until we said we can't obviously no one knows for sure about what we can control what I can control. Ultimately letter game to be dealt with safety conditions in our city and our state and nationally. I do think I'm incredibly proud to be from with in Salem, North Carolina and have a leadership provided on floor and others about the city initiative. We seriously that is one of the conditions. One of the elements is going to be part of returned to normal, so to speak. So you control we can control, so we can control open automatically go around town doing another grocery store, so the help that we can help you help with that. And then know that the dynamics of the target play all inside the department that was one of the conversation know that on the phone WebEx or an excellent out all morning and send Natalie move forward we can do it but we have to figure out exactly the parameters of how to do it.

We can't wait until a date too much about three much about whatever it is to decide how we can implement plans right now and I can assure you that we are working on plans right now knowing that some of the variables that we might have in our calculus might change Commissioner Swofford.

He said dealing with posted during the ACC tournament was the number one challenge the space to nearly 25 years as the commissioner of this lease are tickly behind the scenes and give me a sense for what it's like managing all the sports that you do trying to follow what's exactly happening when a lot of the questions right now it seems our unanswerable while also trying to manage a budget.

What do you view to be the biggest challenge you face you all. That's why you gotta compartmentalize down back and control and make decisions about what we can control, so that word – wishing to respond to the things as they come along that we go control after the last two months the prices are going. The only power ball transition. This crisis I have unbelievable confidence in our leadership team at Wake Forest and in the athletics program and get my confidence in me already got a copy of the present hatch at our university cabinet like the cement that confidence in our team inside the apartment I think is I believe this is closer together than ever before because we have, we cannot have unprecedented circumstances that we had to figure out if you would not focus on the fire if you will trust in and teamwork conquering with us here Wake Forest A.D. tomorrow Steve Forbes to be our guest on the way out is a true coach. Forbes stayed at this the Shaw Center Thursday night.

That's where he slept well a lot were quite sure yet asking that question. At one point everything felt that the complex and I think this was part of the best answers to that question that they're not sleeping very much.

We had them on our call on on Friday morning call with action people literally had not gone to bed because they've stayed up all night talking and talking with our players came right that deal so sweet. There is no gotta give you some prompts, man.

It's not easy to make a coaching change during the middle of the pandemic and to do it as quickly as you did in seemingly got the guy that you wanted all along here and look forward to getting to know him. Maybe in the next few days he could get some sleep and hopefully hopefully sometime soon will be talking about getting the Stansfield at Joel Coliseum getting the stance built at BB&T Field and returning to some kind of normalcy present onto our got me on everything you guys are doing it. People informative and the little girl, you got it all right. Michael Jordan's career have been perceived if he played in the social media era.

Spoiler alert great.

This is the drive