legendary Maryland (and JMU) coach Lefty Driesell has died at 93. I guess his legacy will always be tainted by the Len Bias death.
A bit unfairly perhaps. An investigation found no evidence that he provided instructions to clean up the room where Bias died. You don't see that claim made in mainstream media now. He could have been more engaged in his players' academic success, but did Bias need his degree?
He was a deserving Hall of Fame inductee.
-Career college coaching record - 786–394,upon retirement this placed him as the 4th winning-est coach all-time (men's BB)
-Only coach ever to win 100 games + with 4 schools.
-Invented "Midnight madness"
-Had a top 5 team (#4) that lost the ACC tournament title to the #1 team (NC State) in overtime 103-100 (no 3-point shot), one of the greatest, if not THE greatest men's college basketball games of all time. NC State ran the table in the NCAA championship, Terps won the NIT. At that time, only conference tournament winners made the NCAA tourney. This grossly unfair practice was changed to expand the field, letting in all the rest of the best. Sometimes referred to as "the Maryland rule".
-Had the misfortune to have his top recruit ever, Moses Malone, be the first player ever to skip college and go direct from High School to professional basketball (1974). The returning team was stacked, one can only imagine how they would have been with Moses in the paint.
But beyond all that, he really, really shook things up in the DMV upon his arrival at Maryland in 1969.
"During his introductory press conference on March 19, 1969, he famously and boldly stated that Maryland "has the potential to be the UCLA of the East Coast or I wouldn’t be here."
While the Terps never lived up to that brash statement, they immediately became highly competitive on the national scene, and put a charge into DMV interest in college basketball. Never a dull moment with Lefty. I saw nearly every game for about 8 years (1976-1984) and we LOVED rooting for him, his angry stomping on the court, his "V" for victory, his passion and fire. Rest in peace Lefty.
Terps vs Wolfpack 1974 ACC Championship
