Maryland basketball community reacts to death of Lefty Driesell: 'One of a kind'

BALTIMORE - Charles "Lefty" Driesell is a legend in college basketball, a Hall of Famer.

But, in Maryland, he means so much more.

Driesell coached the Terrapins from 1969 until 1986, and is credited with putting the men's basketball team on the map.

"One of a kind! Rest in Power, Coach!," former Terp Len Elmore said on social media.

Driesell died on Saturday at his home in Virginia Beach. He was 92. 

The news of "Lefty's" death left those who knew him with sadness.

Still, they are celebrating his illustrious life on the basketball court, and off it.

Prior to the Terps home game against Illinois on Saturday, a moment of silence was held.

"It is with great sadness that we received this news today and our condolences go out to his family," Maryland men's basketball coach Kevin Willard said. "Words cannot express all that Coach Driesell embodied and the impact he made on the game. Most importantly, however, was his commitment to his players and the depth of relationships he made with all those around him. Maryland and the college basketball world lost one of its monumental figures today." 

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 1969-86, a stay that ended with the cocaine-induced death of All-American Len Bias.

Driesell launched the college basketball tradition known as Midnight Madness on Oct. 15, 1971. At three minutes after midnight on the first day of practice as sanctioned by the NCAA, Driesell had his players take a mandatory mile run on the track inside the Maryland football stadium.

The lighting was provided by the headlights of a few cars parked at one end of the stadium. The motivation came from Driesell's prodding and the estimated 800 students who gathered to watch the unpublicized event.

"I've done a lot of crazy things to get attention, but that wasn't one of them," Driesell said years later. "I was just trying to get an early jump on practice. I had no idea what it was going to lead to."

Driesell also helped knock down racial barriers in the college game. He made George Raveling the first Black coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference by hiring him as an assistant in 1969. Driesell's effort to recruit Charlie Scott to play at Davidson helped make the future NBA star become the first African American scholarship athlete to attend North Carolina.

Aside from Bias, the No. 2 overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft, Driesell coached a number of stars, including Tom McMillen, Elmore, John Lucas, Albert King, Buck Williams, Adrian Branch and Brad Davis.

"I am deeply saddened to share that Coach Lefty Driesell passed away this morning," McMillen said on social media. "He was a legend both on and off the court and instrumental in my life. I am grateful that we shared some time together a couple weeks ago. We will miss him dearly."

Those around the college basketball world shared their condolences toward Driesell, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

"Lefty was responsible for moving Maryland into the modern era in college basketball when he took over in 1969-70," said Hall of Fame Coach and Maryland legend Gary Williams. "Not just in Cole Field House, but especially in the DMV, he raised the level of college basketball in the area. He did it on a national level, something that was very difficult to do. Lefty will always be remembered as one of the legends of the game. His personality, the teams he coached, all of those things, created an aura around Lefty that very few coaches ever had."

Walking onto the court at Maryland to the tune of "Hail to the Chief," Driesell would thrust both arms in the air — two fingers extended on each hand with the V for victory sign — amid a standing ovation. On the sideline, he would often stomp his foot to show his displeasure with a call, and if things got really intense he would peel off his sports jacket, toss it to the floor and trample it.

Yet, Driesell rarely raised his voice off the court and had a knack for charming the parents of potential recruits with an assuring, homespun style that smacked of his Southern roots.

"He had a big personality, was an excellent recruiter and he helped put Maryland basketball on the map," said Brad Davis, a guard at Maryland from 1974-77 before heading to the NBA.

Before Driesell arrived at Maryland, the team was an ACC doormat and had trouble drawing fans to old Cole Field House. After going 13-13 in Driesell's first season, the Terps announced their resurgence on Jan. 9, 1971, with a 31-30 overtime upset of No. 2 South Carolina at home. There was no shot clock then, so Driesell ordered his players to slow the game to a crawl against a team that had defeated Maryland 96-70 just three weeks earlier.

One of Driesell's best teams never made it to the postseason. In the 1974 ACC championship game, the fourth-ranked Terrapins lost in overtime to No. 1 North Carolina State 103-100 during a time when only the conference champion advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

A week later, a Maryland team featuring future NBA starters McMillen, Lucas and Elmore turned down a bid to the NIT, which it had won two years earlier. N.C. State went on to win the 1974 NCAA title, ending UCLA's seven-year streak as national champions.

"Lefty Driesell was a transcendent figure in college basketball and the man who put Maryland basketball on the map," Maryland athletics director Damn Evans said. "We are saddened to hear of his passing and send our condolences to his entire family and community of friends. His memory will be forever etched in our history."

"We lost a legend this morning. Lefty passed away," added Maryland broadcaster Johnny Holliday. "1979 was my first year broadcasting Terps games and Lefty was there. No words can properly describe the impact he had on basketball and how he put Maryland on the national map. RIP coach."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.