Wake Forest Athletics
Walt Corbean Promoted to Assistant Men's Basketball Coach
5/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 18, 2011
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest assistant men's basketball coach Mark Pope has accepted the same position on the basketball staff at Brigham Young University, as announced by both schools on Wednesday afternoon.
Current Wake Forest director of basketball operations Walt Corbean has been promoted to assistant coach. Corbean has spent the past four seasons on the Demon Deacon staff.
"We appreciate the hard work that Mark Pope has put in to making our future very bright at Wake Forest," said head coach Jeff Bzdelik. "We wish him and his family the very best.
"While we are sorry to see Coach Pope leave the program, we are thrilled to promote a well-deserving and experienced coach in Walt Corbean. Coach Corbean has been an integral part of our program, and I'm looking forward to his contributions as an assistant coach."
"I'm grateful for this opportunity to represent Wake Forest University and our men's basketball program," said Corbean. "I'm looking forward to helping Coach Bzdelik and the Deacs continue a rich tradition."
Pope, a seven-year NBA veteran who spent one season on the Deacon bench, is joining a program with which he has a number of close ties.
"I am extremely excited to accept the assistant coach position at Brigham Young University," said Pope. "My ties to BYU are extensive. My wife and I are both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My wife graduated from BYU, my father-in-law coached at BYU, and I have extended family in Utah.
"With all of that said, the decision to leave Wake Forest has not been easy. Coach Bzdelik and I have been very close friends for a long time. He has been a tremendous mentor to me. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity that he gave me to work on his staff at Wake Forest University. Furthermore, the future of Wake Forest basketball is extremely bright. Coach has done a sensational job on the recruiting trail, and his current players are humble, hungry and working hard."
Corbean joined the Deacon staff prior to the 2007-08 season after serving as the head basketball coach at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Ind. In seven seasons at IUS, Corbean led the Grenadiers to a 140-95 record and three NAIA National Tournament appearances. He also captured four Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships in his tenure at IUS.
Corbean has also previously served as an assistant coach at Northern Kentucky (1992-95), Army (1996-98) and Eastern Kentucky (1999-2000).
Bzdelik's coaching staff for the 2011-12 season includes associate head coach Jeff Battle and assistant coaches Rusty LaRue and Corbean.
