WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The moment was not lost on Skip Prosser.

        The former Xavier coach was sitting in Cameron Indoor Stadium last month awaiting the start of Wake Forest's game at Duke, and his mind started to wander.

        “I thought, it wasn't that long ago when I was coming down here as a high school coach just to watch coach (Mike) Krzyzewski practice and worship at his altar, and now we are trying to beat him,” Prosser said. “It's been challenging. It's been fun.”

        Challenging?

        During one nine-day period, the Demon Deacons faced No.10 Virginia, No.1 Duke and No.3 Maryland. The same three await in succession starting Feb.17.

        “I knew that coming in,” Prosser said. “The league is unforgiving. I mean, it's better than I thought it was going to be. We're just trying to hold our own.”

        Wake Forest's schedule also included nonconference games against Arkansas (win), Fresno State (win), No.23 Syracuse (loss), Minnesota (win), No.2 Kansas (loss), St. John's (loss) and No.18 Marquette (win) before the sixth-ranked University of Cincinnati plays at Lawrence Joel Coliseum on Saturday.

        Prosser left Xavier last spring after seven seasons to replace Dave Odom as head coach.

        In his first season:

        • The Demon Deacons are 17-6, with only one loss to an unranked opponent. They have won four straight and are No.19 in the country after starting the season unranked.

        • They are 7-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, in third place behind Duke and Maryland. Wake has not had a winning season in league play since 1996-97, when NBA All-Star Tim Duncan was on the team.

        • A 90-66 victory Wednesday night gave them a regular-season series sweep against North Carolina for the first time in 32 years.

        All this, while Prosser and his staff are getting accustomed to the players, who are getting used to Prosser's style of play. That usually means running and full-court pressing.

        “We have had to try to balance that by not being overly stubborn and trying to cram square pegs into round holes,” Prosser said. “We're not pressing like we want to press. We're pushing the ball better. We're still not breakneck.

        “I have a lot of seniors and juniors, and I'm not going to change three years in three months. I found that out. We tried. First game, UNC-Wilmington, they went through the press like it was nothing. We sort of backed off ever since.”

        The comfort level on both sides is growing.

        “It took us a little time to get adjusted to the fast-paced system,” senior Craig Dawson said. “It seems like a lot of fun, but you don't realize how much harder you have to work to play that style. Preseason conditioning was probably the worst we've ever had since we've been here, but I think it's been very beneficial so far.

        “He's definitely more enthusiastic than Coach Odom was, just on the sidelines and in practice. I mean, he's really into it. It's almost like he wants to get out there and play. I think all our coaches are the same way. They're out here shooting before practice every day and even afterward.”

        Said senior Darius Songaila, “He's a very easy coach to get along with. You can relate to him in a lot of different ways. He likes to talk to his players off the court about anything you want.”

        Dawson remembers the first things Prosser told his new team: 1) The ABC's will be Academics, Basketball and Conduct. 2) He likes to win, and they will win here.

        “He's proven that,” Dawson said. “We haven't had a season like this in a while.”

        Saturday's game will lack the intensity of the Crosstown Shootout, but it will have plenty of Cincinnati flavor for Prosser, who is 4-3 against UC.

        Prosser was a guest on Bob Huggins' radio show Monday night, and Huggins was on Prosser's radio show Thursday night.

        Xavier volleyball coach Floyd Deaton and director of marketing Greg Amodio are due in town for the game, as are several XU boosters and former Pleasant Ridge neighbors of the Prossers. Skip's mother, Jo, and son, Scott, attended the North Carolina game and are staying for Saturday.

        Prosser said he spoke last week with Musketeers coach Thad Matta and talks to someone from XU almost weekly. Xavier center David West's parents sat behind the Wake Forest bench when the Demon Deacons played North Carolina State.

        “I'm always going to feel about Xavier the way I felt,” Prosser said. “Xavier was not just a job. It was my church, my extended family. The only game I've seen was the Shootout, and I was physically sick after the game (a 75-55 UC win). I was really upset.

        “I love Cincinnati, and any connection I can have with the city of Cincinnati is fine with me. I don't know how I'll feel between noon and 2:30 Saturday.”

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