Posted on 02/17/2024 1:36:36 PM PST by Ciaphas Cain
Charles "Lefty" Driesell, the Hall of Fame coach whose folksy drawl belied a fiery on-court demeanor that put Maryland on the college basketball map and enabled him to rebuild several struggling programs, died Saturday. He was 92.
Maryland announced Driesell's death. His grandson, Ty Anderson, an assistant coach at Wofford, told The Washington Post that Driesell died at his home in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Driesell finished with 786 victories over parts of five decades and was the first coach to win more than 100 games at four NCAA Division I schools. He started at Davidson in 1960 before bringing Maryland into national prominence from 1969 to 1986, a stay that ended with the cocaine-induced death of All-American Len Bias.
Driesell then won five regular-season conference titles over nine seasons at James Madison and finished with a successful run at Georgia State from 1997 to 2003.
“His contributions to the game go way beyond wins and losses, and he won a lot," former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after Driesell made the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. "It’s an honor he’s deserved for a long time.”
(Excerpt) Read more at mynews13.com ...
Gone at 92. He had a great run and a great career.
Gone at 92. He had a great run and a great career.
R.I.P. Coach & barbecue genius...
Wow. Ninety-two is a great run. Lefty was often criticized for his in-game coaching, but there is no doubt he made Maryland a power in the ACC and put Maryland basketball on the national map too. And he brought a heckuva lot of talent to College Park. Undone by the Len Bias tragedy. Was it his fault Bias overdosed? No. But many had to pay for that scandal. RIP.
I’m proud he was the coach at my alma mater.
R.I.P. Coach!
You were a Hoot!
I grew up pulling for the Terps!
R.I.P. Coach!
You were a Hoot!
I grew up pulling for the Terps!
Long forgotten quote from my days at Maryland...
One of Lefty’s players (Herman Veal) got into some sort of trouble with one of the young ladies on campus. The campus Women’s Center wanted Herman suspended. Lefty responded, and I quote “I don’t care about the women’s center. I’m a men’s center!!”
Ahhh... better times.
LOL!! Oh wow. Love it! :-D
Watched Coach Driesell on courtside at Maryland 71-74 when we could get student tickets.
Tom McMillen sat in front of me third row center in Physics. Good times to be a Terp.
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