Wake Forest basketball coach Steve Forbes announced that two long-time assistants of his, Brooks Savage and B.J. McKie, will be joining him as assistant coaches on his staff. In addition, Randolph Childress will remain on the Deacs coaching staff as an assistant.
Forbes also announced the addition of Frank Davis as Wake Forest’s Director of Basketball Operations, Mike Starke as the Deacs Director of Sport Performance and Chris Forbes, as the team’s Video Coordinator. Chris, who is Steve’s son and has a bachelor’s and master’s from ETSU, worked on his staff in Johnson City in a similar role.
Coach Steve Forbes on Assistant Coach Brooks Savage:
- “Brooks is one of the most well-rounded assistant coaches in all college basketball. There is not a task he cannot handle at a very high level, on or off the court. I have relied heavily on his expertise the past 5 years and that won’t change moving forward.”
Coach Steve Forbes on Assistant Coach B.J. McKie:
- “B.J. is an outstanding coach, recruiter, and mentor of young men. He brings a wealth of knowledge and playing experience to the court and will be instrumental in the development of our guards now, and in the future.”
Coach Steve Forbes on Assistant Coach Randolph Childress:
- “Randolph is Wake Forest basketball. He has given his heart and soul to this program as a player and coach. That duel success will pay dividends to the development of our student-athletes, on and off the court.”
Coach Steve Forbes on Director of Operations Frank Davis:
- “Frank is the absolute best at his job. I could not function on a daily basis without his help and guidance. He is highly organized and meticulous, along with being a great person and administrator.”
Coach Steve Forbes on Director of Sport Performance Mike Starke:
- “Mike is one of the best strength coaches in the country. He does a tremendous job training and motivating student-athletes, while building strong personal relationships them. Mike played a key role in our success at ETSU and he will continue to do so for us at Wake Forest.”
Coach Steve Forbes on Video Coordinator Christopher Forbes:
- “Christopher and I have worked side by side for the past six years. No task is beneath him and he has worked his way into being an important member of our staff and program. Christopher is extremely talented and engaging, making him someone the players and staff enjoy being around.”
Brooks Savage Bio:
Brooks Savage joined the Wake Forest basketball staff in May 2020 after a highly-successful five-year stint as an assistant coach at East Tennessee State University alongside head coach Steve Forbes.
During his five seasons in Johnson City, Savage helped the Buccaneers compile an overall record of 130-43 (.751) and a Southern Conference record of 71-19 (.789). The Bucs earned a pair of first place finishes in the Southern Conference and NCAA Tournament berths in 2017 & 2020. During his five seasons with the Bucs, ETSU reached the SoCon Tournament championship game four times.
Savage has served as ETSU’s recruiting coordinator while also supervising the academics program that has helped the Bucs compile a perfect graduation rate. Savage also was the point person of ETSU’s non-conference schedule. While the success of the program created challenges in scheduling, the Bucs amassed a non-conference record of 47-18 (72%) in five years, including going 16-4 in series started during the Forbes era. ETSU recorded numerous marquee non-conference wins including three over Power 5 schools during this time defeating Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, and LSU.
Prior to ETSU, Savage coached at Chattanooga from 2013-2015. He helped the Mocs to a 40-25 record in his two seasons, finishing 2nd in the SoCon both seasons. During his seven years in the Southern Conference, his teams posted a 98-26 (79%) conference record finishing in the Top 3 each year.
Before UTC, Savage entered the D1 Assistant ranks in the Big South conference by helping lead Presbyterian College through the Division 1 transition during the 2012-13 season. This followed a championship year in 2011-12 as an Assistant at Northwest Florida State College where the Raiders 32 wins set a school record, won the Panhandle Conference title and finished as the National Runner-Up. At NWF, Savage helped recruit and develop eleven players that went on to earn Division 1 scholarships. In 2010-11, Savage served as the Director of Video and Player Development at Tulane University.
Over Savage’s nine years as an assistant coach his teams have amassed a record of 210-92 overall while finishing first or second in conference play in seven of those nine seasons.
Since the 2018 offseason, Savage has been invited to participate in TopConnect. This college basketball networking event provides a platform for up-and-coming assistant coaches and athletic directors from around the country to learn from one another and help prepare the assistants to become future head coaches. Savage was also named one of “50 Impactful Mid-Major Assistants” by Silver Waves Media in 2020.
A 2008 graduate of Tennessee, Savage holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sports management/business. As an undergrad, he worked as a student manager and graduate assistant from 2004-10 and was a part of five Volunteer NCAA Tournament teams in his six seasons. Savage and his wife Lauren are the parents of a daughter, Waverly.
B.J. McKie Bio:
B.J. McKie, a former All-SEC player at South Carolina, joined the Wake Forest basketball staff in May 2020 after coaching alongside Steve Forbes for three seasons at East Tennessee State. McKie joined the ETSU staff prior to the 2017-18 season after a 15-year professional playing career.
McKie is the most decorated player in South Carolina basketball history. The SEC Freshman of the Year in 1996, he became just the 12th player in league history to be named first team All-SEC by the Associated Press in three seasons. The two-year captain played in 123 consecutive games at guard for the Gamecocks, scoring in double figures in 111 games and collecting 38 games with 20 or more points. McKie was third in the SEC in scoring as a senior in 1999 with a 17.3 average. He helped the Gamecocks to the NCAA Tournament in 1997 and 1998 and represented South Carolina as an SEC Legend in 2011. McKie is one of just five Gamecock players to have his jersey retired after having scored 2,119 points at USC, the most of any Gamecock in school history.
Following his playing career, the Norfolk, Va. native played professionally both in the U.S. and overseas. McKie was a 2001 CBA All-Star while playing with the Connecticut Pride and spent time playing in France, Cyprus, Italy, and Israel while being named a Player of the Year in Germany.
He started his coaching career at Charleston Southern in 2011 and spent six years alongside head coach Barclay Radebaugh. McKie was a part of two CSU Big South regular season championship teams and helped the Bucs to a pair of NIT berths. He helped guide CSU to its winningest season in school history in 2015 and was promoted to associate head coach following the season.
McKie and his wife, the former Brittany Brooks, have a son Justin who played basketball at South Carolina and was a member of USC’s 2017 Final Four team.
Randolph Childress Bio:
Former Demon Deacon All-American basketball player and ACC legend Randolph Childress will enter his 10th season with the Wake Forest athletic department and his ninth season as a member of the basketball staff in 2020-21. He is the lone holdover from the Deacs previous coaching staff.
Childress began his tenure on the Demon Deacon basketball staff in 2012-13 as the program’s Director of Player Development. After that season, he has been a member of the Deacs coaching staff since.
Childress joined the basketball staff full-time after serving in an administrative role within the athletic department for one year. Childress, who retired from professional basketball in 2011, was previously Assistant to the Athletic Director with roles in compliance, fundraising and student-athlete mentorship. He played an off-the-court mentorship role with the basketball student-athletes during the 2011-12 season before joining the basketball staff full-time.
One of the most iconic players in Demon Deacon history, Childress had a standout career at Wake Forest from 1990-95. He earned All-American honors as a junior in 1994 and again as a senior in 1995. In 1995, Childress was named ACC Tournament MVP after leading the Deacons to their first conference title in 33 years.
Childress is the school’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals and ranks sixth in ACC history with 329 3-point field goals made. His 2,208 career points rank second in Wake Forest history and his No. 22 jersey hangs in the rafters of the LJVM Coliseum as one of 11 numbers retired by the basketball program.
After a freshman season where he twice earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors, Childress suffered a serious knee injury that sidelined him for the entire 1991-92 season. He came back to earn All-ACC honors in each of his final three seasons on campus, collecting first team honors in 1994 and 1995.
In 1995, he led the Deacons to their first ACC Tournament title since 1962, earning Tournament MVP honors after hitting the game-winning jumper against North Carolina with four seconds remaining in overtime. Childress ended the 1995 ACC Tournament with a combined 107 points scored, breaking the previous Tournament record which had stood for 38 seasons.
Childress was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and was honored as an ACC Tournament Legend during the 2012 conference tournament in Atlanta.
The Washington, D.C. native played professionally for 16 seasons, including two seasons in the NBA with the Portland Trailblazers and the Detroit Pistons. He was selected in first round of the 1995 NBA Draft by Detroit with the 19th overall selection.
Childress went overseas to continue his basketball career and played two seasons in Turkey and one in France before embarking on an extensive career in Italy that began in 2000. He played for various teams in the Italian league, concluding his career with San Severo in 2010-11.
Childress graduated from Wake Forest in 1995 with a degree in communication. He has two sons, Brandon and Deven, and a daughter, Kayla. Childress and his wife, Tabetha, were married in 2018. Brandon played for the Demon Deacons from 2017-20, scoring 1,415 career points, as Randolph and Brandon are the highest scoring father/son duo in ACC history with 3,623 combined points.
Frank Davis Bio:
Frank Davis joined the Wake Forest basketball staff in May 2020 as the Director of Basketball Operations.
Davis spent the last three seasons as the director of operations on Steve Forbes‘ staff at East Tennessee State after having started his career as an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech.
Davis is Tennessee Tech’s all-time three-point shooting leader with 251 triples during his playing career from 2006-10. He finished his career by appearing in 125 games, the second-most in school history, and scoring 1,118 career points. Davis excelled in the classroom as well, being named to the Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll four times.
As a coach, Davis was instrumental in Tennessee Tech’s 2015-16 season in which the Golden Eagles went 19-12 and returned to the postseason for the first time in four seasons. Following that season, Davis was named one of 30 assistant coaches to be recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) on its 30-Under-30 team.
Davis is a native of Gainesville, Ga. and a 2010 graduate of Tennessee Tech with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and physical wellness and a Master of Arts in elementary and secondary physical education in 2013.
He is married to the former Allison Price who was a three-year starter at guard for the Tennessee Tech women’s basketball team, and they are the proud parents of their son Cameron.
Mike Starke Bio:
Mike Starke joined the Wake Forest basketball staff in May 2020 after serving in a similar role at East Tennessee State. Starke oversees all the strength and conditioning efforts related to the men’s basketball program including strength and physical development, conditioning, nutrition and recovery needs.
Starke joined the ETSU staff from D1 Sports Training in Knoxville, Tenn. where he served as the head strength coach and general manager of the facility. Among the athletes he trained were MLB player Joe Nathan and pro golfer Wes Roach.
Prior to his stint at D1, Starke was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Miami University (Ohio) where he worked with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs and assisted with the football team.
Starke is a 2013 graduate of Concordia College, Moorhead (Minn.) where he earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. While at Concordia, he was a three-year starter at wide receiver. He then spent two seasons at Tennessee where he worked with the men’s basketball program as a graduate strength and conditioning coach while earning his master’s degree in sport management. While with the Vols, he helped train Jordan McRae, Jarnell Stokes and Josh Richardson.
Starke and his wife, Teresa, have three children: Kinsley, Beckham, and Oakland.
Chris Forbes Bio:
Chris Forbes joined the Wake Forest basketball staff in May 2020 after serving in a similar role at East Tennessee State.
Forbes played a key role in the day-to-day operations of the men’s basketball staff, both on and off the court. He assists in scouting, film analysis and team travel while also creating social media content and producing graphics and videos.
He served as a manager for four seasons and as a graduate assistant for two years. Forbes started as an intern in the ETSU Athletics Communications office where he created social media content, produced feature stories and assisted in historical research.
Forbes earned his bachelor’s degree from ETSU in 2018 and his master’s degree in 2020.
