- Born
- Died
- Birth nameCharles Grice Driesell
- Nickname
- The Lefthander
- Height6′ 6″ (1.98 m)
- Lefty Driesel is an American retired college basketball coach. He was the first coach to win more than 100 games at four different NCAA Division I schools, Driesell led the programs of Davidson College, the University of Maryland, James Madison University, and Georgia State University. He earned a reputation as "the greatest program builder in the history of basketball." At the time of his retirement in 2003, he was the fourth-winningest NCAA Division I men's basketball college coach, with 21 seasons of 20 or more wins, and 21 conference or conference tournament titles. Driesell played college basketball at Duke University.
Driesell earned conference Coach of the Year honors at each of his destinations. He was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year four times at Davidson (1963-1966), twice named the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year at Maryland (1975 and 1980), twice named the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year at James Madison (1990 and 1992), and once named the Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year at Georgia State (2001). In 1995, Driesell was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. On April 2, 2007, Driesell was inducted as a member of the second class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. The University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame inducted Driesell in 2002. On August 13, 2008, he was inducted as a member of the inaugural class of the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame, which honors athletes, coaches, and administrators who made contributions to sports in southeastern Virginia. On May 25, 2011, Driesell was inducted into the Southern Conference Hall of Fame. In 2003, Georgia State University dedicated their basketball court to Driesell.
- IMDb mini biography by: Bazza the Beast
- SpouseJoyce Lee Gunter(December 14, 1952 - August 24, 2021) (her death, 4 children)
- Children
- Down-home Southern drawl and mannerisms
- Father of Chuck Driesell, whom he coached while at the University of Maryland.
- One of three coaches to take four different schools (Davidson, Maryland, James Madison, Georgia State) to the NCAA Tournament. Eddie Sutton and Jim Harrick have also accomplished this feat.
- With 786 victories, Driesell is the fifth winningest coach in NCAA history.
- Credited with inventing "Midnight Madness," a celebration that coincides with a basketball team's first practice of the season, held on the Friday closest to October 15th. The first one was held at UMD- College Park's Cole Field House in 1970.
- Proclaimed that he would make Maryland "The UCLA of the East" when he accepted the job in 1969.
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