Randolph Childress - Men's Basketball Coach - Wake Forest University Athletics

Randolph Childress

Season:
10th Year
Alma Mater:
Wake Forest '95

Former Demon Deacon All-American basketball player and ACC legend Randolph Childress will enter his 10th season with the Wake Forest athletic department and his ninth season as a member of the basketball staff in 2020-21. He is the lone holdover from the Deacs previous coaching staff.

Childress began his tenure on the Demon Deacon basketball staff in 2012-13 as the program's Director of Player Development. After that season, he has been a member of the Deacs coaching staff since.

Childress joined the basketball staff full-time after serving in an administrative role within the athletic department for one year. Childress, who retired from professional basketball in 2011, was previously Assistant to the Athletic Director with roles in compliance, fundraising and student-athlete mentorship. He played an off-the-court mentorship role with the basketball student-athletes during the 2011-12 season before joining the basketball staff full-time.

One of the most iconic players in Demon Deacon history, Childress had a standout career at Wake Forest from 1990-95. He earned All-American honors as a junior in 1994 and again as a senior in 1995. In 1995, Childress was named ACC Tournament MVP after leading the Deacons to their first conference title in 33 years.

Childress is the school's all-time leader in 3-point field goals and ranks sixth in ACC history with 329 3-point field goals made. His 2,208 career points rank second in Wake Forest history and his No. 22 jersey hangs in the rafters of the LJVM Coliseum as one of 11 numbers retired by the basketball program.

After a freshman season where he twice earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors, Childress suffered a serious knee injury that sidelined him for the entire 1991-92 season. He came back to earn All-ACC honors in each of his final three seasons on campus, collecting first team honors in 1994 and 1995.

In 1995, he led the Deacons to their first ACC Tournament title since 1962, earning Tournament MVP honors after hitting the game-winning jumper against North Carolina with four seconds remaining in overtime. Childress ended the 1995 ACC Tournament with a combined 107 points scored, breaking the previous Tournament record which had stood for 38 seasons.

Childress was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and was honored as an ACC Tournament Legend during the 2012 conference tournament in Atlanta.

The Washington, D.C. native played professionally for 16 seasons, including two seasons in the NBA with the Portland Trailblazers and the Detroit Pistons. He was selected in first round of the 1995 NBA Draft by Detroit with the 19th overall selection.

Childress went overseas to continue his basketball career and played two seasons in Turkey and one in France before embarking on an extensive career in Italy that began in 2000. He played for various teams in the Italian league, concluding his career with San Severo in 2010-11.

Childress graduated from Wake Forest in 1995 with a degree in communication. He has two sons, Brandon and Deven, and a daughter, Kayla. Childress and his wife, Tabetha, were married in 2018. Brandon played for the Demon Deacons from 2017-20, scoring 1,415 career points, as Randolph and Brandon are the highest scoring father/son duo in ACC history with 3,623 combined points.