A Banner Night

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- What a special night Feb. 19 was at the Joel Coliseum. Hall of Fame Coach Dave Odom was honored with a permanent banner hung from the building's rafters as part of a 25^th Year Anniversary Celebration of the 1995 ACC Champions. It was a big night. I mean, Tim Duncan was there.

Say no more.

But I will.

Almost everybody was there. From Rodney Rogers, to Robert O'Kelley, to Josh Howard. Players who played for the former 12-year coach and many others who did not. Like the great Charlie Davis. It was a night to honor a beloved coach and a special team, but it was also a night just … to be together under one roof.

To be a family.

To look back over the decades of an impressive history and legacy. Coach Mike Muse deserves a lot of credit for herding all those cats, I mean, Deacs. It'll be a while before we see a collection quite like that, but I have a sneaky idea we will see it again.

As I sat their courtside and took it all in, I was thankful to be a part of it. I arrived two seasons after the '95 title. It's easier for me to keep track of it and tell people when I arrived – Tim Duncan's senior year. The 1996-97 season for those of you scoring at home.

I was able to spend five seasons working with Coach Odom, and I can honestly say I absolutely loved every minute I ever spent with him. As my father would say, "He's a piece of work."

Indeed.

I wrote a column four years ago about him and our relationship over the years. He lives in Winston-Salem and drops by basketball practice every now and then. He had done so four years ago before a home game with Syracuse, and he and I had had a nice chat which prompted me to write. To thank him for being so kind to me over the years, but specifically when I dropped in unannounced on a camp he was conducting during the summer of 1996 in Lynchburg. I was trying to get the job I have now, and Ben Sutton suggested that would be a bold move. I had no idea how Coach Odom would respond, but he couldn't have been nicer. He took over an hour with me, and a couple of weeks later I was hired. As usual, Ben Sutton was right.

Coach and I covered a lot of topics while his campers toiled away. We talked about basketball, family, love and togetherness. Those are the things that sustained his tenure at Wake, and his players are forever changed because of his influence on their lives.

"There's just so much you can say about Coach Odom as a coach, as a father figure to every player whose life he touched," said former guard Jerry Braswell. "He instilled a work ethic in me that's still there today. That's what he's about. He's a no-nonsense coach. He'll let you know when you're messing up, and when you do something right he'll pat you on the back for it. He has that balance, and I think each player who came through Wake Forest and played for him loves him. And we thank him for the opportunity he gave us and for being such a big part of our lives."

Every player we spoke with had very similar things to say about the man who coached the Deacons for 12 seasons, won 240 games and two ACC Tournament titles. On the night of the 25^th reunion we all watched highlights of that epic battle between Dave Odom's Deacs and Dean Smith's Tar Heels. A game that needed five additional minutes to decide. A battle with an ankle-breaking, 'get up' three and then a game winner from Hall of Famer and current assistant coach Randolph Childress.

"I think the best thing I can say about Coach Odom is, for me, after Wake, I've never made a major decision in my life without calling him about it, and I never will," said Childress. "There are certain people who have been pillars in my life and in whom I trust – for their guidance – and I lean on them for so many different things. He's one of those people. That's the best compliment that I could give. I think I'm a great father, a great husband, and a lot of that I watched firsthand from Coach Odom."

Odom was in his element back on the court with his Deacons. His family. And I am so glad I was there.

It was, indeed, a banner night.

Wake Forest Athletics

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