Doug Wojcik recalls sitting in his Pennsylvania high school history class looking at the University of North Carolina basketball poster which had been taped to the wall in the back of the classroom by his history teacher. Wojcik, who a few years later would team with David Robinson to lead the U.S. Naval Academy to the 1986 NCAA East Regional Final, wasn't that impressed by the poster.

He was a Notre Dame fan.

It also didn't impress Wojcik all that much that the same history teacher used to drive from Wheeling, Pa., to Chapel Hill to watch Dean Smith's teams practice. Wojcik was more impressed by the man his history teacher was, a man whom Wojcik calls the best teacher he ever had.

	Skip Prosser is teaching a proven system of winning, but will Wake Forest pass a series of ACC exams in Year One?

Now, 20 years later, Wojcik's history teacher is the new head coach at Wake Forest, and Wojcik is an assistant basketball coach at North Carolina, helping run the practices Skip Prosser used to attend and learn from.

As he takes over at Wake Forest, Prosser knows that his way isn't necessarily the best way or the only way to do things. It's just the best way for him.

"There are a hundred different ways to play," Prosser said."I know there's not just one way. Shakespeare said, 'To thine own self be true.' I just think this way is best style for us."

The style Prosser is referring to is to push the ball upcourt as quickly as possible after a turnover, miss or score to get easy baskets. Develop a pressing mentality on defense to create chaos and confusion. Simply put, Prosser's teams wear out the opposition.

"I know it works," he said of the style that created turnovers, steals and 20 or more wins at Xavier for the past five seasons. "I've seen it work. If we're going to challenge for the championship of the ACC, we have to do it aggressively, to fight fire with fire, to press and go after people."

Prosser wants to play fast and forcefully, the way kids say they want to play. But Prosser knows that saying you want to play that style, and actually doing it, are two very different things.

"It's hard to play all out, all the time," Prosser said. "But we're talented, and uptempo may alleviate some concerns in our frontcourt. It may be better for us to have the game decided between the foul lines rather than below the foul lines."

First, Prosser must install his system, and teach his new players how he wants to play. That is far easier said than done.

"Right now, it's like I'm speaking Spanish and the players are speaking French," Prosser said of the adjustment to the new terminology. "We're thinking and reacting rather than anticipating. The more you think, the slower you are. It's going to take some time."

A new mindset
Wake Forest isn't used to playing Prosser's way. It's not just the new jargon of playing fast, it's the complete change in a way of thinking. Wake Forest under Dave Odom was different, but flourished over his 12 seasons.

"We're coming into a program that had been very successful playing a certain way, and it was a very good way for them," Prosser said. "Most of all, it's a change in mindset. When the ball goes through the hoop, they're thinking 'get back!' when I want them to be thinking 'get up (and press)!'"

The change in mindset has caused Prosser and his staff to spend more time giving explanations of what they want and why, rather than getting into drills quickly and just doing it.

	“	We're coming into a program that had been very successful playing a certain way, and it was a very good way for them. Most of all, it's a change in mindset. When the ball goes through the hoop, they're thinking 'get back!' when I want them to be thinking 'get up (and press)!' ”
		— Skip Prosser, Wake Forest's first-year head coach

"At Xavier, we didn't have to explain a lot," said Prosser, who compiled a 148-65 mark in six seasons and won three regular-season titles. "It's laborious and time consuming to explain everything. We had older guys (at Xavier) that had been through it, and the younger guys just got in the back of the line and by the time they got up front, they had an idea of what to do."

While Prosser deals with putting in a new system with all new players, he is sometimes reminded that one of his players literally thinks Prosser is speaking a different language.

"One of our freshmen, Vytas Danelius, is from Lithuania, and he doesn't always get basketball jargon," Prosser laughed. "When I say to curl at the elbow, Darius Songaila has to go over to him and tell him what I mean in Lithuanian. That'll make you think a little bit."

In practice and in meetings, Prosser has not been shy about discussing the goals for his team, which do included winning the ACC title. With Maryland and Duke atop the national polls, that seems like a tall order.

"That's why we're here," he said. "It's tough to reach a goal if you don't set it. We're picked fourth or fifth in the league, and I can't remember when I've had a team picked fourth or fifth. I'm not comfortable with that."

But Prosser is comfortable with the effort he's getting on the floor in practice.

"We have good kids, and we have talent," Prosser said. "But the test will come when we have a crisis, when we're in the crucible, to see how we react. Right now, we're all singing Kum-ba-ya. It's s a little James Monroe, in the Era of Good Feelings."

An ACC coach bringing up Smith, or Knight or Wooden wouldn't be unusual, but Shakespeare and Monroe? Keep in mind, Prosser's a history teacher. And a good one, too.