Carl Tacy Provided Opportunities at Wake
4/9/2020 1:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Les Johns
It's often been said that opportunity doesn't knock twice.
But it was that one opportunity provided by Wake Forest basketball coach Carl Tacy that made the difference in the careers and lives of many Demon Deacon players and coaches.
Tacy passed away last week at the age of 87.
"Coach Tacy was one of the first who really took me seriously," former Wake Forest point guard Muggsy Bogues said. "He was the one who saw that somebody my size was capable of running his program. He was one of the first to offer a kid my size a scholarship at a prestigious university in one of the top basketball conferences in the country. That was huge.
"That was a leap of faith. I'll never forget him for that. He really meant a lot to me."
Tacy and a couple assistants traveled to Baltimore's Lafayette Courts projects to meet with Bogues and his family during the recruiting process.
"We sat down in my living room — me, my mom, my sister, (assistant) coach (Ernie) Nestor and Tacy," Bogues said. "They laid out the reasons why I should come to Wake Forest. He had a mild-mannered nature, and never got too excited. When he did, you knew something was wrong.
"He always looked after his players. I will miss him dearly. He and his wife Donna were always inspirations to me."
Bogues led Wake Forest to the Elite Eight, eventually losing to the 'Phi Slama Jama' Houston squad just one step away from an elusive Final Four.
"It was a special time for me," Bogues said. "Coach always gave us hope and belief that we can compete with the best of them. When we went against the likes of Ralph Sampson, Spud Webb and Michael Jordan, that run was special."
Tacy gave Bogues an opportunity, and he delivered on it, finishing his career at Wake Forest as the career leader in assists before embarking on a 14-season NBA career.
Bogues was 5-foot-3, but early in his tenure at Wake Forest Tacy delivered a stern edict to his staff — no point guards under 6-feet tall. Though he's officially been listed at 6-foot-1, the rule would have eliminated Skip Brown, who is now the fifth-highest scoring player in Wake Forest program history.
"I told you not to bring me any more 6-feet point guards," Tacy told assistant coach Larry Williams, according to Brown.
Williams convinced Tacy to go watch Brown play.
"I would have gone somewhere else, because I was a highly-rated recruit, but my life would have been very different," Brown said.
"I owe everything to him. I absolutely would not be here or have the success I've had without Coach Tacy."
After going .500 the first two seasons with Brown on the roster, the Demon Deacons really started gaining momentum in his junior campaign — Tacy's fourth year on the job.
"He was a matter-of-fact coach," Brown said. "He had the unique ability to simplify the game. He was a great teacher of the game. He could simplify it and keep the game fun. We all worked hard, but he could keep it fun and simple, making it such that you looked forward to practice and really wanted to play."
The 1976-77 season, Brown's senior campaign, began with a Big Four championship, with back-to-back wins over Duke and North Carolina, then culminated with an Elite Eight appearance.
"That was one of the highlights of my career," Brown said. "We had never put together a great ACC Tournament run and had a terrible first round game in my senior year. So when we got into the NCAA Tournament and started playing well, it was one of the highlights of my career.
"We were ranked high nearly all year. For us to knock off a talented Arkansas team in the first round. We ultimately lost to Marquette, who won the title that year."
Brown said the Tacy positively impacted the lives of everyone in his circle.
"He was such a good man and quite simply the best basketball coach we've ever had at Wake Forest," Brown said. "He was a one-of-a-kind person. Anybody who knew him would say that they're a better person for having known him."
Another opportunity extended by Tacy, and another success story. Brown's jersey is hanging in the rafters of LJVM Coliseum and he was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
Ernie Nestor got his opportunity from Tacy when assistant coach Dave Odom left to pursue a head coaching position at East Carolina in 1979.
"I was a high school coach," Nestor said. "He hired me and did not know me at all, aside from a few visits before the job offer. It was mainly on the recommendation of Coach Odom, who was a friend.
"He helped me grow tremendously, and gave me opportunities to coach at Wake Forest — and I have a great affinity for the institution, with the great number of years I've worked here."
When Tacy took over as coach at Wake Forest, the program had not been to the NCAA for 11-straight seasons.
"The program was a few years removed from the Charlie Davis era and wasn't doing too well," Nestor said. "Tacy took over and began to build his program. Skip Brown was a major piece of that rebuild.
"They are still talking about the kids who played in that era — Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Ralph Sampson and David Thompson. There were some pretty good basketball teams during those seasons, and Wake Forest was right in the thick of it."
The style of play helped Tacy bring in some top targets on the recruiting trail and provided a fun product for Wake Forest fans to watch.
"Coach played about seven guys and loved to push the tempo," Nestor said. "He was a great practice coach and a prepared guy. He wasn't afraid and lifted Wake Forest back into the upper echelon of college basketball.
"He impacted the guys he coached. He let the players play. He loved the guys who could score. He lifted the basketball program at a moment when it was at a low point."
Tacy also impacted the coaches working along with him. The opportunity he extended to Nestor helped launch what turned out to be a career that has spanned five decades, including head coaching stints at Elon and George Mason. Nestor is back on the bench at Wake Forest, serving as a special assistant to coach Danny Manning.
Odom joined Tacy's staff in 1976 after high school coaching stints in Goldsboro and Durham.
"I don't care how many times I try, I could never thank him enough for the opportunity he gave me to come to Wake Forest and be on his staff," Odom said. "He was the first one to give me the chance to coach at the collegiate level — at the highest collegiate level, the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"I hold him in the highest esteem as a coach, a friend and a human being."
The "Gentleman Carl" moniker didn't completely encapsulate the full picture of what Tacy was behind the scenes, according to Odom.
"I don't think the fans realized what a great coach he was, "Gentleman Carl," he said. "That implied that maybe he wasn't tough enough to go against the likes of Lefty (Driesell), Dean (Smith) or Gary Williams.
"When I got here, I quickly found out that he had a tiger for a brain and the heart of a lion. He was a tough, tough, tough man and competitor. His demeanor wasn't given to that, but those of us who were with him behind the scenes knew that."
Tacy set the standard for Wake Forest Basketball during his tenure, and that's a standard Odom had to replicate when he returned as head coach of the Demon Deacons in 1989.
"Wake Forest is an easy university to fall in love with," Odom said. "Every individual can find their place, and I quickly found mine. I give all the credit to Coach Tacy for that, because he allowed me to grow. I found my home back here.
"He loved Wake Forest and was always good to me. I have to believe he was extremely proud of what took place in the 90s. When you win championships, they aren't yours unto yourself. The championships we won, he had a part of those. He laid the foundation with his teams, and that helped us achieve."
Seizing upon the opportunity initially granted to him by Tacy, Odom embarked on a 22-year head coaching career — 12 of which was at Wake Forest. He led the Deacs to a pair of ACC Championships and seven NCAA Tournament appearances. Odom's name is now also hanging in the rafters of LJVM Coliseum.
"He was as good as anybody I've ever been around at sizing up the abilities of an individual to determine what their skills were," Odom said. "He then encouraged them to be the best they could be in that area."
But it was that one opportunity provided by Wake Forest basketball coach Carl Tacy that made the difference in the careers and lives of many Demon Deacon players and coaches.
Tacy passed away last week at the age of 87.
"Coach Tacy was one of the first who really took me seriously," former Wake Forest point guard Muggsy Bogues said. "He was the one who saw that somebody my size was capable of running his program. He was one of the first to offer a kid my size a scholarship at a prestigious university in one of the top basketball conferences in the country. That was huge.
"That was a leap of faith. I'll never forget him for that. He really meant a lot to me."
Tacy and a couple assistants traveled to Baltimore's Lafayette Courts projects to meet with Bogues and his family during the recruiting process.
"We sat down in my living room — me, my mom, my sister, (assistant) coach (Ernie) Nestor and Tacy," Bogues said. "They laid out the reasons why I should come to Wake Forest. He had a mild-mannered nature, and never got too excited. When he did, you knew something was wrong.
"He always looked after his players. I will miss him dearly. He and his wife Donna were always inspirations to me."
Bogues led Wake Forest to the Elite Eight, eventually losing to the 'Phi Slama Jama' Houston squad just one step away from an elusive Final Four.
"It was a special time for me," Bogues said. "Coach always gave us hope and belief that we can compete with the best of them. When we went against the likes of Ralph Sampson, Spud Webb and Michael Jordan, that run was special."
Tacy gave Bogues an opportunity, and he delivered on it, finishing his career at Wake Forest as the career leader in assists before embarking on a 14-season NBA career.
Bogues was 5-foot-3, but early in his tenure at Wake Forest Tacy delivered a stern edict to his staff — no point guards under 6-feet tall. Though he's officially been listed at 6-foot-1, the rule would have eliminated Skip Brown, who is now the fifth-highest scoring player in Wake Forest program history.
"I told you not to bring me any more 6-feet point guards," Tacy told assistant coach Larry Williams, according to Brown.
Williams convinced Tacy to go watch Brown play.
"I would have gone somewhere else, because I was a highly-rated recruit, but my life would have been very different," Brown said.
"I owe everything to him. I absolutely would not be here or have the success I've had without Coach Tacy."
After going .500 the first two seasons with Brown on the roster, the Demon Deacons really started gaining momentum in his junior campaign — Tacy's fourth year on the job.
"He was a matter-of-fact coach," Brown said. "He had the unique ability to simplify the game. He was a great teacher of the game. He could simplify it and keep the game fun. We all worked hard, but he could keep it fun and simple, making it such that you looked forward to practice and really wanted to play."
The 1976-77 season, Brown's senior campaign, began with a Big Four championship, with back-to-back wins over Duke and North Carolina, then culminated with an Elite Eight appearance.
"That was one of the highlights of my career," Brown said. "We had never put together a great ACC Tournament run and had a terrible first round game in my senior year. So when we got into the NCAA Tournament and started playing well, it was one of the highlights of my career.
"We were ranked high nearly all year. For us to knock off a talented Arkansas team in the first round. We ultimately lost to Marquette, who won the title that year."
Brown said the Tacy positively impacted the lives of everyone in his circle.
"He was such a good man and quite simply the best basketball coach we've ever had at Wake Forest," Brown said. "He was a one-of-a-kind person. Anybody who knew him would say that they're a better person for having known him."
Another opportunity extended by Tacy, and another success story. Brown's jersey is hanging in the rafters of LJVM Coliseum and he was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
Ernie Nestor got his opportunity from Tacy when assistant coach Dave Odom left to pursue a head coaching position at East Carolina in 1979.
"I was a high school coach," Nestor said. "He hired me and did not know me at all, aside from a few visits before the job offer. It was mainly on the recommendation of Coach Odom, who was a friend.
"He helped me grow tremendously, and gave me opportunities to coach at Wake Forest — and I have a great affinity for the institution, with the great number of years I've worked here."
When Tacy took over as coach at Wake Forest, the program had not been to the NCAA for 11-straight seasons.
"The program was a few years removed from the Charlie Davis era and wasn't doing too well," Nestor said. "Tacy took over and began to build his program. Skip Brown was a major piece of that rebuild.
"They are still talking about the kids who played in that era — Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Ralph Sampson and David Thompson. There were some pretty good basketball teams during those seasons, and Wake Forest was right in the thick of it."
The style of play helped Tacy bring in some top targets on the recruiting trail and provided a fun product for Wake Forest fans to watch.
"Coach played about seven guys and loved to push the tempo," Nestor said. "He was a great practice coach and a prepared guy. He wasn't afraid and lifted Wake Forest back into the upper echelon of college basketball.
"He impacted the guys he coached. He let the players play. He loved the guys who could score. He lifted the basketball program at a moment when it was at a low point."
Tacy also impacted the coaches working along with him. The opportunity he extended to Nestor helped launch what turned out to be a career that has spanned five decades, including head coaching stints at Elon and George Mason. Nestor is back on the bench at Wake Forest, serving as a special assistant to coach Danny Manning.
Odom joined Tacy's staff in 1976 after high school coaching stints in Goldsboro and Durham.
"I don't care how many times I try, I could never thank him enough for the opportunity he gave me to come to Wake Forest and be on his staff," Odom said. "He was the first one to give me the chance to coach at the collegiate level — at the highest collegiate level, the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"I hold him in the highest esteem as a coach, a friend and a human being."
The "Gentleman Carl" moniker didn't completely encapsulate the full picture of what Tacy was behind the scenes, according to Odom.
"I don't think the fans realized what a great coach he was, "Gentleman Carl," he said. "That implied that maybe he wasn't tough enough to go against the likes of Lefty (Driesell), Dean (Smith) or Gary Williams.
"When I got here, I quickly found out that he had a tiger for a brain and the heart of a lion. He was a tough, tough, tough man and competitor. His demeanor wasn't given to that, but those of us who were with him behind the scenes knew that."
Tacy set the standard for Wake Forest Basketball during his tenure, and that's a standard Odom had to replicate when he returned as head coach of the Demon Deacons in 1989.
"Wake Forest is an easy university to fall in love with," Odom said. "Every individual can find their place, and I quickly found mine. I give all the credit to Coach Tacy for that, because he allowed me to grow. I found my home back here.
"He loved Wake Forest and was always good to me. I have to believe he was extremely proud of what took place in the 90s. When you win championships, they aren't yours unto yourself. The championships we won, he had a part of those. He laid the foundation with his teams, and that helped us achieve."
Seizing upon the opportunity initially granted to him by Tacy, Odom embarked on a 22-year head coaching career — 12 of which was at Wake Forest. He led the Deacs to a pair of ACC Championships and seven NCAA Tournament appearances. Odom's name is now also hanging in the rafters of LJVM Coliseum.
"He was as good as anybody I've ever been around at sizing up the abilities of an individual to determine what their skills were," Odom said. "He then encouraged them to be the best they could be in that area."
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