Lefty Driesell

Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell (December 25, 1931 – February 17, 2024) was an American college basketball coach.

He was the first coach to win more than 100 games at four different NCAA Division I schools, Driesell led the programs of Davidson College, the University of Maryland, James Madison University, and Georgia State University.

He earned a reputation as "the greatest program builder in the history of basketball."

Driesell was born on December 25, 1931, in Norfolk, Virginia, to Frank Driesell, a jeweler who had emigrated from Germany.

In the fourth grade, Driesell received the nickname "Lefty" for his left-handedness.

He attended Granby High School and quickly became a star on the basketball team.

Driesell earned the city's most outstanding player trophy and All-State recognition while leading Granby to the Virginia State Basketball Championship.

He was named tournament MVP, totaling 59 points in three games.

After graduating high school in 1950, Driesell received a full scholarship to attend Duke University, where he played center on the basketball team under head coach Harold Bradley.

Driesell graduated with a bachelor's degree in education in 1954.

After college in 1954, Driesell took an office job with the Ford Motor Company.

Driesell also found time to renew his playing career by joining the Virginia semi-pro ranks, where he once scored 59 points in a single game and earned a tryout with the then Minneapolis Lakers (later Los Angeles Lakers) of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He was also given a chance to enter the coaching profession when his prep alma mater offered him its junior varsity position for both football and basketball.

After convincing his wife he could offset a significant pay cut by also selling World Book Encyclopedias part-time, he accepted the job and produced back-to-back unbeaten football teams and a city basketball champion in his first two years.

Driesell was promoted to varsity basketball coach in 1957, going 15–5 before moving to traditional in-state basketball power Newport News High School.

There he inherited a team in the midst of a winning streak that he would build to a still-standing state record 57 straight.

That unbeaten team won the Virginia Group I State Championship, besting his old Granby squad with four of his former starters.

His combined varsity record at the two schools was 97–15.

Driesell served as the head coach at Davidson from 1960 to 1969.

During his tenure his teams won three Southern Conference tournaments and five regular season championships, earning him the Southern Conference Sportswriters Association Coach of the Year award four years running from 1963 to 1966.

An excellent recruiter at each of his collegiate coaching stops, Driesell landed Dick Snyder, a second-round selection by the St. Louis Hawks.

He cinched his wooing of college prospect Don Davidson by telling him "I'll put your name on the front [of your jersey]".

When legendary NC State head coach Everett Case attempted to lure Driesell with an assistant position offer he replied, "Coach, I got a better team than you got. Why would I do that?"

Driesell was hired by the University of Maryland, College Park in 1969.

During his introductory press conference on March 19, 1969, he boldly stated that Maryland "has the potential to be the UCLA of the East Coast or I wouldn't be here," referring to the nation's dominant college basketball program in the middle of an unrivaled dynasty.

While Driesell fell short of that overreaching goal, he was successful in leading the Terrapins to eight NCAA tournament appearances, a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship, two Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championships, and one Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship.

Driesell coached the Maryland Terrapins from 1969 to 1986.

At 12:03 a.m. on October 15, 1971, Driesell held a one-mile run at the track around Byrd Stadium, where a crowd of 1,000 fans had gathered after learning of the unorthodox practice session.

The event soon became a tradition to build excitement for the basketball team's upcoming season.

Midnight Madness has been adopted by many national programs such as UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, and Duke.

Maryland was ranked as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press rankings for four consecutive seasons from 1972 to 1976, and produced a number of All-Americans, including the No. 2 pick in the 1986 NBA draft, Len Bias.

In 1972, Maryland defeated Niagara, 100–69 to secure the NIT championship.

Driesell said that the season attained the three goals he had set for the program at the time of his hiring: "national prominence", "national ranking", and "a national championship".

On July 12, 1973, Driesell saved the lives of at least ten children from several burning buildings.

In 1974, he signed a can't miss prospect, 6' 10" center Moses Malone. Instead, Malone opted to join the ABA Utah Stars, becoming the first modern era player to proceed directly from high school into professional basketball; he became a three-time NBA MVP, and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer. Among other top names during Driesell's Maryland tenure were NBA stars Tom McMillen, Len Elmore, John Lucas, Albert King, Buck Williams Adrian Branch, and Brad Davis.

At Maryland, Driesell began the now nationwide tradition of Midnight Madness.

According to longstanding NCAA rules, college basketball teams were not permitted to begin practices until October 15.

Driesell traditionally began the first practice with a requirement that his players run one mile in six minutes, but found that the players were too fatigued to practice effectively immediately afterwards.

At the time of his retirement in 2003, he was the fourth-winningest NCAA Division I men's basketball college coach, with 21 seasons of 20 or more wins, and 21 conference or conference tournament titles.

Driesell played college basketball at Duke University.