Tag: Lefty Driesell

Hall of Fame college basketball coach Charles ‘Lefty’ Driesell passed away on Saturday morning at age 92, according to an announcement from the University of Maryland.

Driesell was a Division 1 basketball coach for 41 seasons, winning 786 games including 100 or more at four different schools – Davidson, Maryland, James Madison, and Georgia State.

At the time of Driesell’s retirement in 2003 only three coaches had more victories – Bob Knight, Adolph Rupp, and Dean Smith.

Driesell’s success extended to the NCAA Tournament as well, where he led all four schools to the Big Dance and took both Maryland and Davidson to the Elite 8 two separate times.

Coach Driesell was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 at age 86, a long overdue honor after getting named to the College Basketball Hall of Fame 11 years prior in 2007.

“Lefty should have been in years ago,” Krzyzewski said at the time. “His contributions to the game go way beyond wins and losses, and he won a lot. It’s an honor he’s deserved for a long time.”

Driesell is credited with inventing Midnight Madness when he had his players do a midnight run on the first legal day of NCAA practice. Two years later he opened the Field House at midnight and thousands of fans came to watch the open practice.

He also had a role in forming the modern NCAA Tournament when his 1974 Maryland team – which was upset by NC State in the ACC championship in one of the greatest college basketball games of all time – didn’t get to make the NCAA Tournament, the rule was changed to allow at-large bids, known at the time as “The Maryland Rule.”

Driesell is survived by his grandson, Ty Anderson, who is an assistant coach at Wofford and who told the Washington Post Driesell died at his home in Virginia Beach.