Lefty Driesell, the Hall of Fame coach who helped Maryland’s college basketball program gain national prominence, died Saturday at the age of 92.
University of Maryland Athletics announced Driesell’s death on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Rest in Peace, Coach,” the athletics department said.
Ty Anderson, Driesell’s grandson, told The Washington Post that his grandfather died at his house in Virginia Beach, Virginia, The Associated Press reported. Anderson is an assistant coach at Wofford.
A cause of death was not immediately released.
Maryland Athletics mourns the passing of Hall of Fame head coach Lefty Driesell.
— Maryland Terrapins (@umterps) February 17, 2024
Rest in Peace, Coach. https://t.co/97klFtuxNC
Driesell was a coach for Division I basketball for 41 seasons, ESPN reported. He coached at Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia State. He led all four schools to the NCAA tournament. He was able to get Maryland and Davidson to the Elite Eight a couple of times. He coached at Maryland for 17 years, CBS Sports reported.
When Driesell retired in 2003, his 786 victories were topped only by Bob Knight, Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith, ESPN reported. He was also the first coach to win more than 100 games at four NCAA Division I schools, the AP reported.
Driesell was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018, according to the AP.
Drisell started the college basketball tradition that became known as “Midnight Madness” on Oct. 15, 1971, the AP reported. That was when at 12:03 a.m. on the first day of practice he had his players run a mile on the Maryland football stadium track. It was a mandatory mile by the way. In a couple of years, other schools embraced the tradition, CBS Sports reported.
Charles Grice Driesell was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on Christmas Day in 1931, CBS Sports reported. He played college basketball for Duke from 1951 to 1954.
He started his coaching career at a high school in Newport News, Virginia, before making his way to college basketball.
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