SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Former Maryland men's basketball coach Lefty Driesell is a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, announced Friday.

Driesell is one of nine coaches and players under consideration, including college coaching legends Eddie Sutton, Bo Ryan, and Tom Izzo and NBA greats Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson.

The Class of 2016 will be announced at the Final Four in Houston and the induction will be held in Springfield, Mass., in September. To be elected, a finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Hall of Fame's Honors Committee.

In his 17 seasons at Maryland, Driesell compiled 348 wins, won one ACC title and led the Terps to eight NCAA Tournament appearances. In total, Driesell accumulated 786 wins in his 40-plus years as a head coach.

Driesell is a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and the University of Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame. Driesell has coached two Rhodes scholars, a U.S. Congressmen, a Harvard lawyer and TV announcer, a president of the NBA players union, an NBA general manager and head coach, doctors, businessmen and college athletics directors.