Chris Mack To Wake Forest?

Mar 17, 2014; Dayton, OH, USA; Xavier Musketeers head coach Chris Mack takes question from the media before practice the day before the first round the NCAA Tournament at UD Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Monday has brought the news that Xavier Head Coach Chris Mack is the number one target for Wake Forest to replacing their departing head coach Jeff Bzdelik who the school fired last week following another dismal year in the ACC. Xavier finished tied for third in the Big East and exited the NCAA Tournament after a loss in the play-in game.

This story comes as a shock to many around Cincinnati. Mack is a Cincinnati guy, he went to St. Xavier, he played for the Xavier Musketeers in college. The idea of leaving his alma mater and the city to molded him to go to Winston Salem, North Carolina to coach the Demon Deacons seems absurd. Why leave a successful program to try to resurrect a once good program?

The only logical reason to walk away from Xavier, a school Mack has taken to 4 tournament appearances in five years and two Sweet 16 appearances is to take over the program he once assisted. Mack was an assistant at Wake Forest from 2001-2004 under then Head Coach Skip Prosser.

According to CBS Sports Mack developed great relationships with a few very prominent boosters while at Wake Forest. Those boosters have now named Mack as their number one target for their vacant head coaching job. They view Mack as one of the best young coaches in college basketball. At 44 Mack still has decades of coaching left.

Taking over at Wake Forest would put Mack into a power conference, the ACC. It would also likely give him a bigger athletic budget and a more prominent platform around the country. Mack has it made at Xavier, a school that will do anything for him, a great arena, and enough wealthy boosters to fly him privately around the country.

If Mack were to take this job it would be a surprise to many and devastating for Xavier. Mack would be their third head coach in a row to depart for greener pastures. Thad Matta to Ohio State, Sean Miller to Arizona and now possibly Mack. It is a waiting game from this point until Mack speaks.