Charles Driesell
Driesell gives his trademark "V-sign" during his first season at Maryland
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| Sport(s) | Basketball |
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| Biographical details | |
| Born |
December 25, 1931 Norfolk, Virginia |
| Playing career | |
| 1950–1954 | Duke |
| Position(s) | Center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1954–1956 | Granby HS |
| 1957–1959 | Newport News HS |
| 1960–1969 | Davidson |
| 1969–1986 | Maryland |
| 1988–1996 | James Madison |
| 1997–2003 | Georgia State |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1986–1988 | Maryland (asst. AD) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 786–394 (.666) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
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| Awards | |
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College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2007 |
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Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell (born December 25, 1931) is a retired college basketball coach and former Duke University basketball player known to American sports fans by his childhood nickname and remembered as one of the great program builders in NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Conference) history. Combining instinctive coaching techniques with astute game-day strategy, innovative promotions and recruiting, and the ability to successfully develop and motivate individual players, teams, and entire fan bases, he was the first coach to win more than 100 games at four different Division I schools, Davidson College, the University of Maryland, James Madison University, and Georgia State University, each of which had not previously enjoyed sustained basketball success. Driesell earned a reputation as "the greatest program builder in the history of basketball." Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski has noted that “Not once did he take a program that was thriving. From Davidson to Maryland to James Madison to Georgia State, he built everyone.”
One of his sport’s most colorful personalities, he finished with 786 total wins in a storied, 42-year career unmarred by any NCAA violations. At the time of his retirement in 2003, he was the fourth winningest Division I college coach of all-time (ahead of John Wooden, Henry Iba, and Phog Allen) with 21 seasons of 20 or more wins, and 21 conference or conference tourney titles. Nine times he was named a conference coach of the year in four different leagues and among the hundreds of players he developed were ten first team All-Americans, nine first round National Basketball Association (NBA) draft picks, 33 total pro draftees, three Olympians, and two Rhodes Scholars. As a group, his former assistant coaches have since combined for more than 2,500 Division I wins and over 3,000 total victories as college head coaches. In 2007 he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame after previously being named to eight other school, conference, or state halls of fame, and upon his retirement, the Georgia State University court in Downtown Atlanta was named in his honor.
He was born on December 25, 1931 in Norfolk, Virginia to Frank Driesell, a jeweler who had emigrated from Germany. In the fourth grade, Driesell received the nickname "Lefty" for his left handedness. He attended Granby High School and quickly became a star on the basketball team. Driesell earned the city’s most outstanding player trophy and All-State recognition while leading Granby to the Virginia State Basketball Championship as the state tournament MVP by totaling 59 points in three games. After graduating high school in 1950, Driesell attended college at Duke University on a full ride basketball scholarship from 1950 to 1954. He played on the basketball team there as a center under head coach Harold Bradley. Driesell graduated from Duke with a bachelor's degree in education in 1954.
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