In a move that has shocked the Wake Forest community, athletic director Ron Wellman announced this afternoon that he has fired head basketball coach Dino Gaudio. The move comes after a second straight lackluster finish to the season, but is still surprising to many considering Wake's first round NCAA Tournament win over Texas.

Wellman was quick to thank Gaudio for his service to the university, citing his many "contributions to this program over the last 10 seasons. He stepped into a difficult situation at a very trying time when Skip Prosser passed away and he steadied the program."

Unfortunately for Gaudio, that history was not enough for Wellman to retain him as head coach.

"From a competitive standpoint, it has been disappointing that we have developed a pattern of not playing well late in the season and in the postseason. Wake Forest has a proud history of basketball success but we have not been as competitive in the postseason as we would like."

"Six months ago, I was convinced that we were going to perform better at the end of the season," Wellman said. "That did not happen."

The timing came as a bit of a surprise. In the minds of many the win over Texas more than likely sealed Gaudio's chances of retaining his job into the 2010-2011 season, and this announcement two weeks later was not one very many people expected to hear. "This was not a snap decision. It was not a snap judgment," explained Wellman.

Regardless, the decision has been made and it is time for Wellman and the University to determine its next steps. Wellman would not provide a timetable for a decision, but it is hard to imagine he does not already have an idea of where he will look and how quickly he will do it. In his press conference Wellman indicated that the candidates he was interested were still available, so it will be interesting to see where that search will lead.

Assistant coaches Jeff Battle, Rusty Larue, and Walt Corbean will be retained in the interim, however their futures will be up to the eventual head coach of the program.

One of the most pressing issues for the remaining coaches to deal with is the recruits who have signed letters of intent to enter Wake Forest as freshmen next season. That list includes Carson Desrosiers, Travis McKie, J.T. Terrell, Melvin Tabb, and Tony Chennault.

Having signed letters of intent, each of those players would have to ask for and be granted a release by the university and most specifically Ron Wellman. It is yet unknown whether any or all of them will seek such a release, but it is highly unlikely that one will be granted until a new head coach has been hired and had the opportunity to speak with each of the recruits. At that point, if they still wanted to be released the university would most likely grant their request.

What had been expected to be a relatively quiet spring on Wake Forest's campus has suddenly turned very interesting. Deacons Illustrated will provide coverage every step of the way and keep you fully updated as the situation continues to develop.

Furthermore, for our premium subscribers, keep an eye on The Pulpit - Premium for updates from each of the recruits. Deacons Illustrated is working to get in touch with each of them in the next 24 hours to find out their initial reactions to the big news.