Memories of Lefty

Master recruiter, unwavering competitor, larger-than-life figure, pioneer and innovator. These are phrases that one may associate with a carnival barker. However, they also perfectly describe Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Charles "Lefty" Driesell. 

One of Driesell's former players drew that exact comparison — in a positive way — when referring to the legendary head coach's ability to attract fans from all over the United States. Interviews with several of the legendary coach's players and assistants from his time at the University of Maryland revealed many memories and stories of the late head coach.

"Basketball was his whole life," said Joe Harrington, an assistant to Driesell from 1969-79. "From the time he was six years old, when he was a manager of a high school team, he always loved basketball. But people loved him more."

Driesell passed away at 92 on Feb. 17. He leaves a lasting legacy, profoundly impacting Maryland and the college basketball community. Driesell led the Terps from 1969-86, posting a 348-159 overall record — the second-winningest mark in program history. Maryland reached eight NCAA Tournaments and six Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title games with Driesell at the helm. 

Driesell served as head coach at four different institutions: Davidson (1960-69), Maryland (1969-86), James Madison (1988-96) and Georgia State (1997-03). He was named Coach of the Year nine times throughout four different conferences, including twice in the ACC with the Terps.

Driesell was finally honored with an induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 after being inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007. He is also a member of the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame, Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, Washington DC Sports Hall of Fame, Southern Conference Hall of Fame and Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame.

But even with all the personal accolades and team success, observers will forever remember Driesell as a loving, caring and thoughtful individual.

"Everything from checking up on you to make sure we're doing OK as far as being on campus and being away from home," said Derrick Lewis, who played under Driesell from 1984-86. "He would give you his shirt off his back. That's the feeling you got. I met with [Mike] Krzyzewski, Dean Smith and [Jim] Valvano. There was just something a little bit different about Lefty that stood out and made you think this guy really cared."

Driesell lived a fruitful life and touched the hearts of many. The stories and memories of his former players and assistants serve as a way to remember and memorialize the life of the late great head coach.

"Every time that I met with him, we talked about a lot of things and I'll learn something new about him," Harrington said. "He's lived a remarkable life and the people that he has touched, it's incredible. It wasn't just Maryland. It was every place that he went. He made the people that surrounded him better people."

Master Recruiter

Ask any of Driesell's former players about stories from their recruitment to Maryland, and they'll probably each have a unique story. There were few rules and regulations for recruiting during his time coaching at Maryland, so Driesell would often be on the road during the season for multiple days, attending almost every high school basketball game of the players he desired. Players frequently would only know he was there days later.

Greg Manning Sr. played under Driesell from 1977-81 and grew up in the small steelworkers town of Steelton, Pa. The coach visited Manning's hometown several times, but he maintained an air of mysteriousness.

"The first three times coach came to my hometown, I never saw him, never even knew he was there," Manning said. "He spoke to my mother all three times. She didn't tell me that he came to see her, and that's kind of what he did."

Driesell had his process. He sold himself to the parents, particularly the mother. But he was also a tireless worker. Manning says almost every time he had a high school basketball game, Driesell was there. Driesell made future Terps feel as though they were the most critical player to the future success of Maryland's basketball program.

Tom McMillen played at the varsity level under Driesell from 1971-74 and was one of Driesell's first recruits after the coach came to College Park. McMillen's first season, 1970-71, was Driesell's second at the helm. 

Before committing to Maryland, though, McMillen sat in his living room with Driesell and expressed concerns about his education. The 6-foot-11 forward was studious, foreshadowing his future career as a politician and businessman.

"I was giving him a hard time about how North Carolina and Virginia had many more books in their library than Maryland," McMillen said. "I said to Lefty, 'Is that a reflection on the quality of the school?' Lefty came back right away and said, 'Tom, absolutely not. And by the way, when you finish all those books at Maryland, if you want any more, I'll buy them for you.'"

Driesell could sell student-athletes to a school they had never even considered. Lewis, who played for the Terps from 1984-88, says Maryland wasn't one of his top 10 schools. He planned to attend North Carolina, NC State or Duke.

"He treated everyone as if they were his own sons, and that started on recruiting visits," Lewis said. "Lefty visited me at my home, and he walked in the door, took off his shoes and sat in my dad's chair that nobody else ever sits in. He said, 'How do I get you to come to the University of Maryland?' From that moment on, I was like one of his sons. I was like Chuck (Driesell's biological son)."

Unwavering Competitor

Driesell was not only a fierce competitor. He was a winner. He was the first head coach to win 100 games at four different institutions and remains one of two to ever accomplish the feat. His 786 career wins rank No. 16 all-time in Division I basketball history.

Manning says his teams were never underprepared. Watching films using reel-to-reel audio tape recordings was tedious, and film sessions often lasted several hours. However, Driesell wanted to ensure his squad was prepared for whatever team it played.

The coach did whatever it took to win. Generating obscure yet effective game plans is one example. The Terps struggled to compete with the ACC's best for years. That all changed when Driesell picked up the first ranked victory of his Maryland coaching career on Jan. 9, 1971. Maryland outlasted No. 2 South Carolina, 31-30, at Cole Field House, and more than 14,000 fans rushed the court to celebrate.

There was no shot clock then, so Driesell ordered his team to slow the game down by holding the ball. Three weeks earlier, South Carolina had just beaten Maryland 96-70.

"South Carolina played all zone defense. [Driesell] came up with a game plan because we had two good players in Howard White and Jim O'Brien," Harrington said. "We were going to hold the ball and make them come out of zone and go man-to-man. We held the ball, but they never came out of their zone."

Maryland led 4-3 at halftime, and the game went into overtime. White passed to O'Brien, who made a last-second basket to claim the victory. 

After that point, signature wins became the norm, and Driesell didn't hide his determination to do whatever it took to ensure a win for himself and his squad.

"I can remember going into the locker room before a Carolina game at home, and he said, 'I'll give my left arm to win this game today,'" Manning said. "I truly believe that he would have given his left arm if he was guaranteed a win. Well, we did win, and he didn't have to give his left arm, but he didn't say his right arm. He said his left arm, and he's left-handed, so it meant a lot to him."

Larger-Than-Life Figure

Driesell had an aura that surrounded him and made him distinctive. His Maryland teams were undoubtedly successful, but he made them iconic. He single-handedly changed what it meant to be a Terp. 

"He brought something initially when he got here to the University of Maryland that really was not ever here in athletics in terms of basketball," Manning said. "He brought a personality in the cities of Washington D.C. and College Park that was that was almost larger than life."

The coach was known for his V for victory sign. Driesell would thrust both arms in the air and form peace signs. But it wasn't a peace sign. It was his celebration to denote a Maryland victory. A standing ovation always accompanied him.

When Lewis joined his squad in 1984, it had become a staple for the coach. He vividly remembers seeing Driesell and his iconic celebration for the first time.

"The first game I played at Cole Field House, he walked out, and he put up two fingers, and the crowd just erupted," Lewis said. "I was Like, 'What does that mean? What's with the two fingers? What is the peace sign about?' He said, 'It's not a peace sign, it's the V.' That was just a moment I'll never forget, and every game we won when he walked out, and he wouldn't do it right away, the crowd waited until he put those two fingers up and the whole arena erupted."

Driesell was also known for his witty comments and memorable quotes. He proclaimed Maryland "The UCLA of the East" before ever coaching the game for the Terps. Those were lofty expectations to place on a program with just four winning seasons in the last 10 years and no postseason success to speak of.

He drew inspiration from the comments of Jay McMillen, Tom's older brother. Jay played for the Terps from 1964-67 alongside another Maryland Hall of Fame basketball coach, Gary Williams. "Why can't you make Maryland the UCLA the East?" Jay asked Driesell when the two met.

During his first news conference after being named head coach, Driesell turned it into a statement. He was fearless of the challenges ahead. Maryland never won an NCAA championship under Driesell, but McMillen says he laid the foundation for future success in the program. 

"Gary with the national championship and now with [Mark] Turgeon and what he did, and coach [Kevin] Willard," McMillen said. "I'm not too sure any of that success would be possible without what he did initially. He was a larger-than-life figure in a really big metropolitan city."

Through the countless hours he worked, Driesell achieved a level of celebrity and team success. Although this was sometimes tiresome for other coaches and players, they enjoyed being around the legendary coach.

"I was on his staff when he came here in 1969, and he gave everybody a little note card that said, 'The harder I work, the luckier I get,'" Harrington said. "I'll never forget the first time I met him. He said we're going to work five and a half days a week. He said that's what I do. And that half day always turned into a full day. But I loved every minute of it."

Pioneer And Innovator  

Driesell was a brilliant sports marketer in many ways ahead of his time. Whether it was recruiting talented players, filling the stands with thousands of screaming fans, or getting others around the country excited about the program, he had an answer.

McMillen believes Driesell's background as a vacuum cleaner salesman carried over into coaching, but the coach wasn't just business savvy. His personality attracted fans and garnered national attention. Manning compared the Hall of Fame coach to a carnival barker. 

"Everybody used to say he's not only a coach, but he's like a carnival barker," Manning said. "He would raise money, sell tickets, he did different things when recruiting players. All of those things didn't happen until he got here and he really paved the way for future success with the coaches that followed him."

Driesell created many traditions that are still held today. He was the originator of the Midnight Mile, which later became an annual tradition for fans to gather at Kehoe Track at Ludwig Field with the basketball team to run a mile before the season starts. Fans are given free food and drinks, but it's mostly an opportunity for players to connect with the fans.

Driesell wanted his team to get a head start ahead of the basketball season on Oct. 15, 1971. So he ordered his team to run one mile around the track at then-Byrd Stadium a few minutes after midnight. Thousands of students showed up to watch. McMillen was there for the inaugural event.

"We had to go out and run a mile, and they had to put parked cars around Byrd stadium so they could see us running at midnight," McMillen said. "We eventually turned it into a practice. My senior year we had to play UCLA in December. Lefty had us start practicing at midnight because he wanted us to get used to the West Coast time."

Today, Midnight Madness has become an event across the country, complete with celebrity appearances, music, contests and more. It's a signature practice that many of the nation's top programs hold.

Driesell even indirectly sparked widespread change across the NCAA. His 1972 squad sailed through the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and won the championship.

Two years later, Maryland met NC State in the ACC final. The Terps lost 103-100 in overtime. Many regard the game as the ACC's greatest game of all time. However, Maryland didn't qualify for the NCAA Tournament because, at the time, the tournament only featured 25 teams, and each team needed to win its conference to qualify. Maryland declined its invite to the NIT because it had already won that tournament two seasons ago. 

"If we could have gone on from then we might have been the national champions," McMillen said. "When Maryland won the national title in 2002, they lost the ACC tournament final and had a second chance."

The NCAA Tournament expanded to 32 teams the following season in 1975. Driesell's Terps team was the reason why. He put Maryland at the forefront of college basketball in terms of its success and even its ability to create drastic changes to the college basketball landscape. 

"Lefty was able to ignite this area over college basketball, and it still remains that way," McMillen said. "He started major college basketball in this area."