Lefty Driesell

HERNDON, Va. -- Lefty Driesell breezes into the lobby, his suit coat flapping. He has been on the go since 5 a.m., and it's nearly 9 p.m. now. He has driven from his home in Harrisonburg, Va., to Arlington, Va., and back to this restaurant near Dulles International Airport.He has seen four prospective recruits, including one who kept him waiting for more than 90 minutes. He got lost at least once, and now he's behind schedule. There is still more to do before his 7 a.m. flight to Memphis, Tenn.

More than a quarter century after he was forced to resign in the months following the cocaine-induced death of basketball star Len Bias, longtime Maryland coach Lefty Driesell was officially - and permanently - recognized Tuesday with the unveiling of a bronzed bas relief sculpture in his honor at Comcast Center. In a ceremony that attracted a few hundred friends, family and fans and brought back close to 50 players - including Tom McMillen and Len Elmore, who spearheaded the effort to get their former coach recognized - Driesell, now 81, was both emotional and typically cantankerous in accepting the honor.

Lefty Driesell retires with the fifth-most victories in Division I history. Coach Schools Wins Dean Smith North Carolina (1961-1997) 879 Adolph Rupp Kentucky (1930-1952, 1954-1972) 876 *Jim Phelan Mount St. Mary's (1954-2002) 824 *Bob Knight Army (1965-1971), Indiana (1971-2000), 796 ...................................Texas Tech (2001-2002) Lefty Driesell Davidson (1960-1969), Maryland (1969-1986), 786 James Madison (1988-1997), Georgia State (1997-2002) Notes: Minimum 10 seasons in Division I; *-active

Et cetera Brenton gets Driesell honor for defense Stony Brook senior forward Tommy Brenton (River Hill) was named the winner of the Lefty Driesell Award as the National Defensive Player of the Year, CollegeInsider.com announced at its awards banquet Friday night in Atlanta. Brenton led the Seawolves in steals with 54 and was named the America East Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season. Stony Brook ranks sixth in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (.378 percent)

Former Maryland athletic director Jim Kehoe said last night that he and Lefty Driesell were not invited to the closing ceremonies at Cole Field House on Sunday night. Kehoe, who hired Driesell as Maryland coach in 1969, said, "I'm disappointed that I wasn't asked to come, but it's absolutely wrong that Lefty Driesell, the man who started it all, was not invited. It's sinful. I was shocked when he told me he wasn't invited." Driesell said last night from his Atlanta home, "I'm not going to lose any sleep over this.

Lefty's required college readingIn "Confessions of a Coach," Norm Sloan's upcoming book on his life in college basketball, he recalled how Tom McMillen, a star player who has become an NCAA reform-minded congressman, ended up playing for Lefty Driesell at Maryland. McMillen, 4th District (D), was set to play for Dean Smith at North Carolina and even gave an unwritten commitment.If Driesell could not sway the recruit away from North Carolina, why not try the parents?Sloan said Driesell discovered that North Carolina's play-by-play announcer at the time wrote pornographic books under a pen name.

COLLEGE PARK -- This is the kind of story Maryland fans will tell for years, long after Joe Smith has left for the riches and fame of the NBA, long after the record books have been rewritten and the rafters at Cole Field House are filled with reminders of this star-in-the-making.This is the story of how Lefty Driesell, more than eight years after leaving Maryland, finally helped the Terrapins sign the big man he never could get during his 17 foot-stomping seasons as coach of the Terrapins.

Lefty Driesell might have retired from coaching basketball at Georgia State eight days ago, but it doesn't appear he will be away from the game all that long. Driesell said yesterday he is going to talk to the Atlanta Hawks in a couple weeks and one of the job possibilities is "they might have me scout the East Coast since I'll be living in Virginia Beach." Driesell said he "settled on a home" in Virginia Beach on Thursday. "My wife, Joyce, wants to live in Virginia Beach," said Driesell, 71, who had 786 victories when he walked away from Georgia State.

UM was wrong to leave Driesell out of ceremony I am a retiree, a lifelong Maryland resident and follower of University of Maryland sports teams. I watched the closing of Cole Field House on March 3 and recalled many of the fine athletes and coaches who have performed there. However, I was wondering why Lefty Driesell was not there, and then read in The Sun on March 5 that he was not even invited. Dave Haglund, Maryland associated athletic director for media relations, said the university wanted to focus on individual players, the first ACC championship team in 1958 and the first team to play in Cole.

On May 3, Maryland will write the final chapter in the successful but sometimes turbulent basketball coaching career of Lefty Driesell at the school when the M Club inducts him into the Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame. Driesell, 69, guided the Terps to eight NCAA tournaments in 17 years at the school, including three appearances in the round of 16 and two in the final eight. He also had eight Top 20 teams, five Top 10 squads, one ACC tournament champion, six ACC tourney finalists and seven All-Americas.

Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Barker and Don Markus and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports. A lot has been made about the erratic play at point guard this season for the Terps. How has a lack of consistency among Maryland's big men contributed to the team's inconsistent play? Don Markus: I stated in December that the two biggest issues for Maryland this season would be a lack of outside shooting and the development of a second scoring option inside aside from Alex Len. Thanks to Logan Aronhalt, Seth Allen and Jake Layman, the outside shooting has not been as big a problem as I thought.

COLLEGE PARK - Lefty Driesell is more than 26 years and 220 miles removed from Maryland's men's basketball program. At 81, the former coach doesn't get to many games anymore. But from his condo in Virginia Beach, Va., Driesell thinks about his Maryland days often - partly because of his lingering affection for the school and partly because he never seemed to find proper closure after being forced out in 1986 following the cocaine-induced death of star player Len Bias. Some of Driesell's former players have kept their distance from the school because they believe he never received his due for the 348 wins and other accomplishments during his 17 seasons as head coach.

Lefty Driesell's career at Maryland was coming to an end when a sportswriter who had spent the first 10 years of his career in New York showed up to cover the Terrapins for The Baltimore Sun. It was the summer of 1985 and there were rumors that Driesell might be going back home to Norfolk to coach Old Dominion. Driesell, who was coming off the Terps winning an ACC tournament championship two seasons before, had told a paper down there that there was “a 50-50 chance” he would be leaving College Park after 17 seasons to coach the Monarchs.

Maryland has finalized plans to honor former basketball coach Lefty Driesell with a bronze relief that will hang at Comcast Center, sources say. Driesell is to be honored at the Clemson game Feb. 23. Then, on April 16, a number of Driesell's former players are expected to attend a ceremony to unveil the bronze bas-relief. It “will be displayed on the Comcast wall interior next to the portion of the floor from Cole Field House,” said a letter circulated among Driesell's supporters to raise funds for the project.

The recruiting battle for the Harrison twins that ended with Maryland losing out to Kentucky made me think about Lefty Driesell and some of the tales he has told over the years about going after the likes of Tom McMillen, Moses Malone and Albert King. I figured that the old Lefthander, still kicking up a storm or two at age 80, would be a great source on the subject of recruiting. I also thought it would be great to hear Driesell's stories about how he got McMillen away from North Carolina and how Malone came close to becoming a Terp before turning pro. A year after Driesell arrived in College Park from Davidson, McMillen was the biggest high school star in the country in Mansfield, Pa.  He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Maryland men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon impressed many people -- this sports blogger included -- during Wednesday's introductory press conference. But he made a strong impression on Lefty Driesell, who coached Maryland from 1969 to 1986, long before Turgeon was picked to replace Gary Williams. Driesell was the coach at Georgia State when Turgeon coached at conference rival Jacksonville State from 1998 to 2000. Even though Driesell mean-mugged Turgeon before games (as Turgeon pointed out Wednesday)

COLLEGE PARK - He walked to center court, bantering with the cheerleaders who escorted him there. He flashed his famous victory sign several times and was serenaded with one last chorus of "Amen." Lefty Driesell was back where he belonged, at a school he helped put on the college basketball map. It was not Cole Field House, where the former Maryland coach was noticeably absent when the Terrapins played their final game there in March. But Comcast Center was good enough for Driesell. "A lot of people made a big deal of that," Driesell said last night, after being honored with a halftime ceremony during the Maryland-North Carolina State game.

He doesn't sound, or act, much different than he did 15 years ago at Maryland or 30 years ago at Davidson. Maybe there are fewer hairs on his mostly bald head. Maybe the stage is smaller, the spotlight not as bright.The act, like Lefty Driesell himself, doesn't seem to get old."I'm just as fiery as I used to be," Driesell said in that familiar raspy twang over the telephone from Atlanta, where he is in his second season at Georgia State. "I like to win."Driesell, 66, will be going after the 700th victory of his never-boring, sometimes-controversial 37-year coaching career tonight.

Maryland and Morgan State will both play basketball games in Kansas City, Mo., today. Beyond that basic similarity, however, the implications of those NCAA tournament contests are strikingly different for the respective institutions. At Maryland, coach Gary Williams faces intense second-guessing every time his team fails to make the tournament. So this year's appearance is exciting but also brings a sense of relief to players and fans who see March Madness as their birthright. "I think that because the team had some very disappointing losses and knew they were in danger of missing the tournament, there was some extra satisfaction," Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow said.

The NCAA describes it as a safety issue, but Lefty Driesell doesn't buy the rationale behind a rule change that discourages one of his contributions to college basketball. "It might not be good for the alumni and us old guys," Driesell said, "but the kids still like Midnight Madness." A publicity stunt Driesell concocted at Maryland in 1971 evolved into three decades worth of fans entering arenas nationwide on the Friday night nearest Oct. 15. When the clock hit midnight, contenders and also-rans started the season with a session that was more entertainment than practice.