Few people have ever had a more appropriate nickname that Gentleman Carl Tacy. He and I talked several times during our mutual time at Wake. He was always generous with his time and access.
As a coach, he was a bit ahead of his time in playing up tempo. He was a throwback in that he could beat you with his guys, but if he switched sides he could win with your guys.
The way he was pushed out was sad. What was sadder was how Wake didn't make him more of a part of our community. His knowledge and class were a great and wasted asset.
RIP Coach.
A great coach and a true gentleman. That 76-77 team was one of my favorites. If I remember correctly, had we beaten Marquette, then the Final 4 would have been us, UNC*, UNC-C and UNLV. I liked our chances that year.
How and why was he forced out? I was in school at WFU during part of his tenure (77-84) but don’t recall. We had the great run and beat DePaul in ‘84 and we won at #1 Duke with Rudd, Cline, Muggsy, Green and Garber (6’5” Garber at center). I thought he just retired. I recall a revolt by the players such as John Toms when Steve Warden was put in cold to shoot for Toms at Clemson, and Lenox Rawlings seemed to hate Tacy, but most of his tenure was filled with good times.Few people have ever had a more appropriate nickname that Gentleman Carl Tacy. He and I talked several times during our mutual time at Wake. He was always generous with his time and access.
As a coach, he was a bit ahead of his time in playing up tempo. He was a throwback in that he could beat you with his guys, but if he switched sides he could win with your guys.
The way he was pushed out was sad. What was sadder was how Wake didn't make him more of a part of our community. His knowledge and class were a great and wasted asset.
RIP Coach.
The rumblings were real. There was a player rebellion led by one kid who didn't like Carl. He was a great coach, but wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy.