College Basketball's Top 100
 
 
Trophy Awards -- Official Sponsor of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 

 
Brad Holland
 

special to collegeinsider.com

 
 
 
LEFTY
by Lute Olson, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame



Since his retirement a few years ago, there have been some wonderful features and accounts of the coaching career of Charles "Lefty" Driesell. Some have focused on his 786 wins, taking four different schools to the NCAA tournament or his invention of "midnight madness."

Each is a part of what Lefty Driesell was as a coach, but there is one thing that comes to mind when summing up the coach and the man. He is genuine.

In any walk of life we encounter individuals who appear to be one thing on the surface, but in truth they wear more than one hat. Such can never be said for coach Driesell. That sense of humor and friendly demeanor, which were seen on television for years, are still evident when that green light goes out.

There is an old adage that suggests that you can often judge the quality of a person by how many friend he or she has. Well you would be hard pressed to find someone who has come in contact with coach Driesell that doesn't truly like the man.

Lefty's friendly, outgoing and personable makeup says more about the man than any of his 786 victories. There have been many occasions when I have been at a function with coach Driesell, when people have come up to say hello. In every case, he gave those people his full attention.

I have heard people say that Lefty Driesell had a lot of compassion for the game. I do not disagree, but I would add that he also has a lot of compassion for people.

We can all envision his intensity and passion on the sidelines, but when the game was over he brought those same traits to those he knew and those who he would meet for the first time that day.

I remember meeting Lefty, early in my coaching career at Iowa. At that time I was very new to the division I coaching ranks, having spent many years in the junior college ranks in California. But Lefty treated me like a long lost friend.

For all that he had accomplished to that point in his career, he never acted like a "wheel." He was so very down to earth. And more than 25 years later he is still as humble and genuine as ever.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the line I believe a lot of people lost sight of just how good of a coach he was. I have always thought he never got the credit he deserved.

Coach Driesell was an excellent recruiter, but he was also an excellent coach. All too often coaches get tagged with a label of being a great recruiter, but not a great coach.

He won 100 games or more at four different schools. No one else has ever produced such a feat. He also took each of those schools to the NCAA tournament, on the way to nearly 800 career wins.

Now you do not accomplish such things if you are just a recruiter.

In any walk of life if you have a weakness, your competition will eventually exploit it. And you certainly do not last 41 years in this profession if you are one dimensional.

He took over four losing programs and left each, following a successful tenure. At every stop he helped lead a program to new heights.

I hope that Lefty has found time to relax and spend with family, but if ever decides to place his resume on someone's desk it would be difficult to consider anyone else.

He produced 22 twenty-win seasons, 21 postseason bids, nine Top 10 finishes, 11 Top 20 finishes, and coached 33 players drafted into the NBA.

His teams advanced to the Final 32 12 times, the Sweet Sixteen six times and Elite Eight four times.

His mentorship of coaching has developed assistant coaches who have gone on to win over 2,300 games, more than any other head coach in NCAA history.

That's an impressive resume. But above all the numbers, just below the name Charles "Lefty" Driesell there should be one word to begin that resume -- "Genuine."

I was very happy to see CollegeInsider.com establish the Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award. I hope that each player that receives this award, in the coming years, will understand the impact Lefty made on the game of basketball.
 
 
 

You can also CLICK to Donate

 

CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

 

Online Casinos

 
When buying college football tickets, whether it's Bama Crimson Tide tickets or OU Sooners tickets, check Coast to Coast for the best deals. Don't miss a UConn Huskies game or Penn State Lions game again!
 
Prominent Ticket Service has the lowest prices on all basketball tickets including Big East Tournament tickets, NBA All Star Game tickets, New York Knicks tickets, and New Jersey Nets tickets! PTS also has the web's cheapest prices on Super Bowl tickets, Super Bowl XLVI tickets, New York Red Bulls tickets, and much more!
 
College basketball betting starts here. LinesMaker is the premiere source of NCAA basketball lines and all sports betting odds. Create a free sports betting account and access all college and NCAA Tournament lines as well as live college basketball betting trends.
 
Buy Final Four tickets and BCS Championship tickets at ABC ticket broker as well as Penn State football tickets and Philadelphia Eagles tickets.
 
College Football Tickets
 
Empire Tickets has your NFL Season Tickets for all NFL teams including Atlanta Falcons Tickets, NCAA Football Tickets including BCS Championship Tickets, and College Basketball Tickets including Final Four Tickets.
 
Check out this excellent sports handicapping and sports picks and site for college basketball picks as well as top sportsbook reviews and promo codes. Be sure to check out their NCAA Bracketology and NIT Bracketology pages along with their NCAA bracket contest list.