Dave Odom Interview

Now, be enjoined by the legendary Wake Forest basketball coach coast coached Randolph Childress and many other demon deacon legends he's going to be honored Wednesday night and I want to say this is a reminder he's gonna be honored before the game. Wake Forest, Georgia Tech Wednesday night at the Jewel and then at halftime. The 95 team is going to be recognize Dave Odom. Welcome back on and the triad. How are you very good market appreciated Josh and I'm glad you gave that information you have basketball fans were not just wait for the backdrop that the best both brands have a tendency of showing up about three minutes before tipoff and you know to three minutes before tipoff real will miss whatever other ceremonies there are pregame so I appreciate you mentioning that I really do and I look forward to a really wonderful Wednesday evening.

What can you tell me about the first time you saw or met Tim Duncan well is the story that I've told many many times but the short version is that Chris Keene, one of our former players, pre-Duncan was you been drafted by the NBA. He and Alonzo mourning and several other players were sent by the NBA down to the Caribbean islands the end of the Caribbean, island hop around the clinics in just kind of busy with the natives down in the Caribbean and one of the islands that they wanted the island of St. Croix so I sold Chris when he got back and I just rhetorically asked him is Chris you know you didn't see anybody will be interested in. Did you cook it was a kid on the arm of St. Croix. He was pretty good.

I said why good big Jamie all the pertinent information. I got one of my assistants to get right on Madden would make phone contact with him and he was amenable to me coming down and watching them play so it was a Sunday in October for members very well. I flew down from Greensboro to cycling want to play that afternoon and rest is history.

It was an easy recruit to get I can do easier than that. A lot of how confidence eats the All-Star break the MBA. How confident are you that is going to be there Wednesday night. Well, you know, for the first time in his life. He knows his time is not a result Japanese coaching you I think he's doing everything you possibly can to get here just just because Wake Forest deserves something good to happen. I'm going to say he will make it all right will do for that and that's that's enough for I think most expands to get there Wednesday night just beneath just the chance that they might see.

Of course it's to see you but Tim Duncan on top of that, that's just icing on the cake.

What goes through you today when you walk into Joel Coliseum.

The place that you called home for many years. Well, I'm amazed that I look at Joel Coliseum is been tremendous advantage to Wake Forest. We a lot of wins in this building you when we when we teetered up we expected when I think I was one of the traits of our 1994, 95 teams is that they were not afraid to lay it out there every night. They laid it out there. They were there were 1213 guys that played is one of thought is one photos one and and as a result, you think a lot of wins on that court out there so when I got another thought that I have Josh's when I walk in. I am very good, but I can't help it. My eyes immediately go to the rafters and not where the banners are and I start looking at one end down there, Dickie Emerick and Lynn Chappell.

In another euro and when you get into Charlie Davison skip Brown and Rod Griffin.

Love you blokes and then you get into Rodney Randolph and TM and Josh Howard behind that minute. You can't help but just coming Wake Forest basketball tradition is second to none may we've had some great great great players come. And so therefore it makes it humbles me just to just to think that in a short time I'll have a banner up there as well. So it's me.

I don't have the words. I don't think express how appreciative I am of University for doing this dry cursor to the athletic director.

I think Danny Manning had a lot to do with people appreciate that from his standpoint with this year on sports on triad as you sent Wake Forest me just all those names you listed off in the history it's something that we all appreciate, but I went to two games on Saturday. I watched Notre Dame Duke. I watch North Carolina, Virginia and it's crazy to think. I don't mean to make you feel all because it made me feel old and there were there were kids were born in 2001.

Playing in that game and I started thinking from 1990 when you started coaching at Wake Forest till 2010.

The only ACC programs that have more wins than Wake Forest, North Carolina two in Maryland as the type of success were talking about here.

However, I talk to people and I say I live in Winston-Salem and I talk about this program and the younger people set Wake Forest basketball what you talking about the been the one NCAA tournament in the last 10 years. What what you mean they're respectable as a basketball program right there would Duke and North Carolina. How much does it bother you when people say that things have changed for weight basketball well will have changed, but I think they can change back. I want your opinion I think our team is playing the best basketball that is played all season long. I noted not play well on Saturday, November 2 games before that Louisville and Syracuse.

They were really really good.

I think they can get back I think it's up to the fans and I think it begins with our students to get our students to the game. I look up in the student section in some games it your other half empty half or whatever you want: that's not good that's not ACC style and then when you put nothing into it and that's what you end up getting so I'd like your student body more involved and I think that would give us energy in the building and got energy in the building.

You don't want to come in the place and begin to fill up one when I was coaching. I think when coach Prosser came along pretty much the same thing. It was not a question about how many people going to be again. May we just knew there will be 14,407.

I think it was when I was coaching so it doesn't bother me. Absolutely it bothers me Wake Forest as it really strong basketball heritage lineage if you will, and we need to reclaim that and we can do that we can do that as a university we can do it as a community we could do it is Wake Forest has far-reaching people on either end of the state. That really liked Wake Forest and we got it. We gotta mobilize all of and I think Manning is working extremely hard to get that done and need to be done, but the answer you question. Is it really really bothers Wake Forest great Dave Odom's name is going to the rafters Wednesday night, 7 o'clock at Joel Coliseum is could be recognized before the game hundred and 95 teams… This is the coolest thing about it and I wanted to ask you about it. Why is it so important to you that you have your night be shared, not just the 95 team being honored in your yearning going up in the rafters, but getting many of the other great deeds were still with us, try to get them to the Joel Coliseum for them to be recognized as well. Well what went when John Curry came to me with the idea about doing this.

I thought about agree to do it if we would invite all of those on the banners who have banners in the rafters back and he said why you want to because you have the championship that we had all that particular March afternoon of March night, as it were. It was a product of all things. Come before the foundations that were laid 61 to 62 championship and let you know that that team didn't stop there. He went on to the file final for and you know when you look at Charlie Davis, one of first African-American players and Atlantic Coast conference. Maybe the best jump shooter there ever been in this way is terrific and you know that all is just a lot of good things that happen with the these people and it's been forever getting them back as a group. I don't know this ever happened.

And here we are right on the verge of being able to get the all the all the banners back is medium can Rod Griffin is probably not make it back is 08. He lives over in Italy and that's a hard trip, but most of the others are going to be back and so I'm excited about that and that will excite fans for Wake Forest because it is to see all of them back at one time I had never been done, so I'm excited about that.

I'm just so happy for you coaching one of the more respected guys out there and I weep when you cross past. Back when I was doing radio at East Carolina where you've been and I'm good friends with Terry Holland as well who you were an assistant for I'm I'm just thrilled that you're getting your doing the 95 team as well. Thanks for all you've done for Wake Forest and will see you Wednesday night.thanks anytime I can help you let me know the pleasure talking to you and again, a reminder to LaPlante to get there early. 630 2007 at the latest.

They don't that's Dave Odom, Wake Forest basketball legend