Big Gheorghe gave to me
A belated Gheorghemas Miracle.
It was recently announced that Lefty Driesell was finally going to get his rightful place in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Some might argue that Lefty got in because of lobbying by Jerry Colangelo, John Thompson & Coach K. I, on the other hand, like to think it was a belated Gheorghemas miracle prompted by Fo:GTB Dave Fairbank’s Gheorghemas Post from back in 2016 presented below without further comment other than the Tiny Dictator’s intro.
The season of guest surprises continues today, as FOGTB Dave Fairbank wandered off the beach, swigged a Red Stripe at Tortuga's, and continued one of the quests he embarked upon years ago in his days as a mild-mannered ink-stained wretch. Our JMU readership will dig it.
He was born on Dec. 25 in humble surroundings to parents of modest means. His life’s work was a calling that took him to homes and venues far and wide. His message and success brought him great recognition and many followers. His methods weren’t embraced by everyone, and he had plenty of detractors. He was a larger than life figure known by one name.
I speak, of course, of Charles Grice Driesell – coach, character, showman, raconteur, pioneer. Lefty, who turns 85 on Christmas Day, is again a finalist for the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. This often evokes the response: You mean he’s not already in?
Nope. Lefty has been passed over by the Springfield selectors for years, despite one of the mountainous careers in college basketball history. In my prior life as a keyboard jockey at a daily newspaper, it became kind of a small ‘c’ cause of mine to stump for Lefty. I fear that as the years pass, his accomplishments and stature will fade into old photos and dry numbers on a ledger, which is the polar opposite of the man.
Lefty was a presence, a big man whose steely determination was offset by a southern drawl and manners that charmed young and old. A Norfolk, Va., native, he was blunt and funny and combative and maddening. He was generous and big-hearted, but not above calling reporters who he didn’t think were fair to him. In an era of buttoned-down coaches with carefully crafted images, he is a throwback we are unlikely to see again.
I have my suspicions about why Lefty has been rejected by the voters, but his resume’ and contributions to the game speak for themselves – or should, anyway. Start with the numbers: In 41 years, Lefty’s teams went 786-394. He is the only coach in history to win at least 100 games at four different schools. He took all four of those schools to the NCAA tournament, one of only two coaches to do so (the other is Eddie Sutton).
When he retired in 2003, he stood fourth in career victories, behind only Bob Knight, Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp. He is still ninth on the all-time list, as coaches such as Krzyzewski, Boeheim and Roy Williams passed him in recent years.
More remarkable, Lefty never walked into a situation with a stacked deck. He carved out wins and made basketball matter at schools where that wasn’t the case: Davidson, Maryland, James Madison, Georgia State. Davidson hadn’t had a winning season in the 11 years before Lefty arrived in 1960. Maryland won just eight games each of the two years before he came to College Park in 1969. At JMU, then school prez Dr. Ron Carrier saw a chance to elevate the program’s, and the school’s, profile with a big-name coach a couple of years removed from his tenure at Maryland. He more than delivered, elevating not only JMU, but the entire CAA. His four predecessors at Georgia State had a combined .295 winning percentage. Lefty more than doubled that, going 103-59 at a downtown Atlanta commuter school that was barely on the local sporting radar.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiga85vRXr-JS2E-jCLUv5aIjYUF3bbvB1ZQ16Bop_nRPey71YAjDjj0TnTXYYeCMTzBs5DPJzw-XwMx39JkP3z8NRgEPx0T-ibeKtEOYHr7WDv5JGepR6Dllu7bVfqWNWnJyWyYQ/s320/lefty2.jpg)
Full disclosure: I’m a Maryland native and College Park grad (Class of 1980) who spent many hours in the Terps’ great old barn of a gym, Cole Field House, watching Lefty’s teams. The joint buzzed and Maryland games were a hot ticket. Later, I covered a bunch of his games when he was at JMU, and the Convocation Center rocked.
Terry Holland, Lefty’s first recruit at Davidson and later a coaching rival at Virginia, was emphatic that his former college coach and mentor belonged in Springfield.
“There are many coaches with lesser credentials who are in the Hall,” Holland wrote to me in an email, “but I am not sure there are ANY with his credentials who are not in the Hall.”
For all of his success, some people thought that Lefty should have won more. His rep was as a terrific recruiter and assembler of talent, but an inferior tactician. Duke students held up photos of Lefty with a gas gauge superimposed on his bald noggin and the needle pointing to E. He won only one ACC tournament title and one CAA tournament championship. His JMU teams were often the kings of January, but flamed out in March.
The hole in Lefty’s resume’ for Springfield appears to be a national championship, though there are other coaches enshrined who didn’t win titles. Lefty didn’t make good on his vow to make Maryland “the UCLA of the East.” He never even got to a Final Four, though as Holland pointed out, the system denied some of Lefty’s best teams at Davidson and Maryland the chance to compete for a championship. Before the NCAA field expanded, only conference tournament winners were invited. Lefty’s famously talented 1974 Maryland team (Tom McMillen, John Lucas, Len Elmore) stayed home after losing to David Thompson and eventual NCAA champ N.C. State 103-100 in the ACC title game in what many folks in these parts still consider the greatest college game ever played.
I suspect that Lefty isn’t in Springfield due to perception and poor exits. He was forced to resign at Maryland in the aftermath of All-American Len Bias’ death from a cocaine overdose in 1986. At JMU, he announced following the 1996 season that he intended to coach just one more year. He was fired less than 24 hours later. He stepped down at Georgia State, and for good, in Dec. 2003, when he couldn’t shake a cold that sapped his energy and stamina. One of the giant careers in college coaching history ended with a quiet, mid-season departure. No farewell tours, no victory laps, no testimonials.
Maryland announced that it planned to honor him with a banner in the rafters of its arena during a ceremony in February. Georgia State named its court after him. Worthy gestures. But the game’s greatest honor inexplicably eludes him. The man ought to be in Springfield. Here’s hoping that the award isn’t posthumous.
40 comments:
Nice save, Marls. Appreciate the close-out. Here's to Lefty.
And RIP Le Grande Orange.
Rusty made it to opening day.
There's a 1991 Lotus Elan on BaT at $7400 with under 50 minutes to go. And when you speak of me, speak well.
What about the 1985 Peugeot diesel sport wagon?
That car is awesome (I have an inordinate fondness for French cars and wagons) but it's on the wrong coast. The TR5 at $5k is heartbreak waiting to happen. The S2000 at $12k will not be at $12k for long and if it is then someone got a steal. The SZ should go for triple what it's at now with 1 day left.
On the other side of the WTF spectrum, someone paid over $22k for a 2000 Civic Si.
1978 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith II for $6,500, ending tomorrow. With an 8-track player and it looks like it comes with a couple of 8-tracks! Man, I wish I had more money.
This one screams Marls: T-tops, automatic, pop-up headlights, 71k (sick!) miles and it's in Alexandria.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-chevrolet-corvette-10/
You can also buy the car Jake Ryan drove for $3500. Who knows, maybe get Molly Ringwald's number with it.
CD player in the '72 Vette. Do car guys frown on stereo systems not commensurate with the car's era?
my kid reallllly likes vcu. hanging out at the siegel center with fogtb mike litos might be in my future.
It depends on the car Whit. You can put whatever you want in that particular 1972 Corvette. If it's some rare variant like a ZR1 then you keep it as original as possible.
Excellent. I need to be able to crank Springsteen‘s Darlington County just for the line “we got rock ‘n’ roll music blasting out the T top.”
In the Rolls I will have Vivaldi and Yacht Rock 8-tracks and a shit-ton of Grey Poupon.
Damn Rob I'm bellied up at The Veil sampling one before getting to go beers.
Did the area around VCU ever get nicer/better/safer?
it’s changed a ton. and the school has invested a shitload in facilities. i’d have no issue with her going.
Giancarlo appears to be good at the whole baseballing thing.
Is he related to Mike Stanton?
Or Harry Dean?
Richard Dean Anderson?
Neal Anderson?
Michael Dean Perry?
neil patrick harris?
connor burchfield, best shooter in america.
I just tuned in to burchfield for his last two racks to clinch it.
I downgrade any vehicle without a cassette player.
What's poppin?
My pops turned the big 69 today. So that's something.
Does Jake Ryan come with the car Whit?
If so, I'm getting my checkbook out now
"No justice. No Peeps."
May be the best strike chant
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/03/29/feature/trouble-in-candy-land-how-peeps-pensions-and-a-lawsuit-threaten-to-upend-the-american-retirement-system/?utm_term=.86f9f2f96ba0&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1
that shoulda been a post, shlara
At least a diorama
Family about to embark on next vacation: Scottsdale, AZ and a two-Day Sedona/Grand Canyon excursion. Goal will be to relax, avoid stress on expenses incurred while unemployed, and to avoid any broken limbs.
The alarm is set for 430 AM, given our 705 AM flight. I think we picked that one b/c it was a relatively cheap direct flight, but it sounds pretty miserable right now.
Long flights for underslept kids go smoothly, right?
one airplane bottle of whiskey per kid probably isn't illegal
rob, I remember telling you 7 yrs ago, just wait to the college tour phase. And you’ve basically gone to the places we did. Reverse parenting is weird
i kinda enjoyed the week. trying hard not to project my biases on my kid. except for the bias where she should go to an in-state public school.
Oh yes, the in-state bias is real. She decided between Mary Wash and JMU (sorry danimal). Jess and I were very happy
I don’t know about reverse parenting but holy shit parenting is a bitch. Not the easiest day in the Hughes house. Seriously considering sending kid #2 off to boarding school beginning in middle school.
And yes, in state all day. My step kid could actually go to school at Florida Tech (yes that’s a real college) for free but that’s in town and she really needs to get at least an hour or so away.
my kids need to look into going to college in germany. where it's tuition-free.
Talk to Potchie! My kids decided to wrestle all day. No serious injuries. The Grand Canyon lives up to the hype and then some. Everyone should go at least once. How bad is out of state tuition at public schools these days? W&M was a bargain even for slobs from NJ when I was a lad.
for example, z, my daughter could attend the most expensive in-state public school in virginia for $37k (tuition, room, and board - for non-virginians, that's now $58k). that school, by the way is your alma mater. rutgizz costs $48k for non-garden staters. unc costs $51k out of state. uva, $62k out of state.
those are annual...gack...puke...ohmigod...figures
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