WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — BJ McKie and Brooks Savage had vastly different playing careers.
McKie was a highly sought after guard at Irmo and he ended up playing at South Carolina where he is the program's all-time leading scorer and played on the 1997 SEC Championship team. He also enjoyed more than a decade playing professionally overseas.
Savage was a very good player in his own right but playing at the next level was not in the cards. But he immediately began his coaching career as a student manager
While McKie's coaching career didn't start until 2011, seven years after Savage started his career in Knoxville, they each took a very similar route to the ACC.
Savage had stops at several mid-majors including Presbyterian College. He would join the Steve Forbes staff at East Tennessee and was there for five seasons. McKie would come to Johnson City in 2017 and was there for three seasons before he and Savage would come with Forbes to Wake Forest.
Tonight in Clemson, Savage and McKie will be at Littlejohn Coliseum where the Demon Deacons will face a Tiger team hurting with injuries of late to Hunter Tyson and P.J. Hall. Clemson (12-15, 4-12 ACC) in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Recent history has been with the Orange who have won 13 of the last 15 meetings. Wake Forest comes in with a 21-7 record, 11-6 in the ACC.