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ESPN - Hall of Fame hoops coach Charles 'Lefty' Driesell dies at 92
Hall of Fame college basketball coach Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell, who won 786 games while leading four different Division I schools to 100 victories, died Saturday morning. 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 coached Division I basketball for 41 seasons -- at Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia State -- and when he retired in 2003, only Bob Knight, Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith had won more games. He reached the NCAA tournament at all four schools and took Maryland and Davidson to the Elite Eight twice each.
Before Gary Williams led Maryland to the 2002 NCAA championship, Driesell made the Terrapins relevant.
"Not being afraid to put Maryland's basketball program out there, that takes some guts to do that," Williams said. "Obviously, Lefty had that ability. He's a great recruiter. There's a lot of those players who are here today, just tremendous players. He was just great for the university and the state of Maryland. If you said 'Lefty,' you didn't have to say anything else. Everybody knew who you were talking about."
Driesell was known as much for his personality as for his success on the court, with his big, booming voice, his Virginia Tidewater drawl and his comic style of storytelling.
Driesell was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018, at the age of 86 -- an honor that seemed long overdue. He came to the stage leaning on a walker, accompanied by coaches Mike Krzyzewski, John Thompson and George Raveling, and gave a typically funny, rambling, memorable Driesell speech, interrupted often by laughter from the crowd.
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 coached Division I basketball for 41 seasons -- at Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia State -- and when he retired in 2003, only Bob Knight, Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith had won more games. He reached the NCAA tournament at all four schools and took Maryland and Davidson to the Elite Eight twice each.
Before Gary Williams led Maryland to the 2002 NCAA championship, Driesell made the Terrapins relevant.
"Not being afraid to put Maryland's basketball program out there, that takes some guts to do that," Williams said. "Obviously, Lefty had that ability. He's a great recruiter. There's a lot of those players who are here today, just tremendous players. He was just great for the university and the state of Maryland. If you said 'Lefty,' you didn't have to say anything else. Everybody knew who you were talking about."
Driesell was known as much for his personality as for his success on the court, with his big, booming voice, his Virginia Tidewater drawl and his comic style of storytelling.
Driesell was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018, at the age of 86 -- an honor that seemed long overdue. He came to the stage leaning on a walker, accompanied by coaches Mike Krzyzewski, John Thompson and George Raveling, and gave a typically funny, rambling, memorable Driesell speech, interrupted often by laughter from the crowd.