Hall of Fame Coach Lefty Driesell Dead at 92: ‘A Transcendent Figure in College Basketball’

Hall of Fame coach Charles Grice “Lefty” Driesell has died at age 92.

The legendary coach, who helped build the University of Maryland basketball team into a national powerhouse, died Saturday morning, according to university.

“Driesell was a legend in the sport who left an indelible mark on Maryland basketball and the college basketball community as a whole,” the university said in a statement.

Damon Evans, Maryland’s Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics, described Driesell in a statement in a news release as “a transcendent figure in college basketball and the man who put Maryland basketball on the map” during his tenure as the team’s coach.

“A Hall of Famer, Lefty was an innovator, a man ahead of his time from on-field coaching to off-field marketing,” Evans added.

Driesell, who was born in Norfolk, Va., and played basketball at Duke University, went on to have a stellar coaching career. By the time he retired, he had won 786 games and was the first and only coach to lead four different Division I schools to 100 basketball victories, according to The Washington Post.

His path to success began when he took his first coaching job at Davidson College in North Carolina in 1960. He spent nine years at the school, leading the basketball team to a 176-65 record.

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Driesell took over as the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Maryland in 1969 and over the next decade and a half transformed the team into a winning team. Prior to his hiring, the school had only made one NCAA Tournament appearance in 46 years, but he was able to turn that around.

Under his leadership, the Maryland Terrapins made eight NCAA Tournament appearances and won a National Invitation Tournament championship, two Atlantic Coast Conference regular season titles and an ACC Tournament crown, according to ESPN. He also led the team to a 348-159 record.

Lefty Driesell in 1981.

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Driesell was also known for inventing the “Midnight Madness” tradition, trans The Washington Postafter he allegedly made his players run a mile on a track inside a Maryland football stadium just three minutes into the first official day of NCAA practice.

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In 1986, he ended his tenure as coach of Maryland after the death of one of his players, Len Bias, from a cocaine overdose, according to ESPN. Driesell was cleared of any wrongdoing in connection with Bias’ death, but was reassigned to another role in the athletic department.

Lefty Driesell in 1997.

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Driesell left Maryland in 1988 to become the coach at James Madison and led the team to an NCAA appearance and five Colonial Athletic Association regular-season championships, per outlet. He coached for nine seasons before leaving in 1995 with a 159-111 record.

He then coached Georgia State for six seasons, posting a 103-59 record, before retiring in 2003, according to ESPN.

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Lefty Driesell.

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Four years later, Driesell was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame and was then inducted into the 2018 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

“His contribution to the game is far greater than wins and losses, and he’s won a lot,” former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said during the induction ceremony, according to Deadline. “It’s an honor he’s deserved for a long time.”

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