Randy Childress named assistant to the director of athletics at WFU

Randolph Childress meant too much to Wake Forest to ever be gone for good.
Childress, the All-America guard who in 1995 willed the Deacons to their first ACC title in more than 30 years, has returned to his alma mater as assistant to the director of athletics. Ron Wellman, WFU's athletics director, said the position was created for Childress, who will be involved in the areas of compliance, fundraising and mentoring student athletes.
Wellman said Childress will work especially closely with the players on the men's and women's basketball teams.
"No. 1, I think he'll be a great addition to our staff,'' Wellman said. "Randolph wants to get into collegiate athletics, whether it be in coaching or administration. He's still a little bit up in the air about that.
"We're not sure where Randolph's career will take him. We're going to try to expose him to a number of different areas. But a really important area for us is just a mentorship of our student athletes.''
Childress, whose 2,208 career points rank second to Dickie Hemric in Wake Forest history, has become a legend at the school, if nothing else for his performance in the 1995 ACC tournament.
Childress was a first-round draft pick by the Detroit Pistons in 1995, but he suffered a knee injury his second season while playing with Portland Trailblazers. He has spent the past 11 years playing pro basketball in Italy.

He said he has long wished to return to Wake Forest in some capacity, but he thought he might have to begin his career in college athletics administration at another school and work his way back. He said he was "ecstatic" to get this opportunity.
"For one, it excites me because it brings me back here,'' Childress said. "And from a mentoring standpoint, it gives me an opportunity to educate these guys on an experience that I've done.
"I've accomplished it across the board, so when I talk to these young men and women, I've had the ups and downs of the injuries, the success. I've been a first-round pick; I've had a successful career abroad. So I think for any of these young men and women who are going through that process, I've obviously done it.
"And I think I can share that experience with those guys, and a lot of times those kids, they tend to listen to someone who has actually gone through it, and more specifically, have gone through it here.''