CollegeInsider.com | AllCoachNetwork.com | NABC.com
   
 
SPECIAL TO COLLEGEINSIDER.COM

   

LEFTY
By Lute Olson

 
 
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.
 
 
DEFENSE: EFFORT, PASSION AND COMMITMENT
by Lute Olson


Defense wins basketball games. Offense only determines the margin of victory.

It’s always interesting to hear people talk about teams that are great defensive teams, as opposed to those that are not. Defense is all about effort, passion and commitment. So why aren’t all teams great on the defensive end of the floor? After all, effort, passion and commitment should be components all teams should possess.

It’s simple. If you commit to becoming a good defensive player then you will become a good defensive player. You have to put forth the effort and have passion. There is no better example of this than Kevin Garnett, of the Boston Celtics.

We often hear analysts say, “He plays every possession like it was his last.” That’s good, but anyone can expend energy. It’s more than just pounding the floor and looking the part. There has to be a purpose behind it all and Kevin Garnett certainly plays with a purpose. But it’s more than just effort and passion. He is committed to being a great defensive presence.

Presence is the key. There are a lot of excellent defensive players, but Garnett brings a defensive presence to the floor that is contagious. He makes those around him better. For the entire careers Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were viewed as outstanding scorers. They were not known as defensive-minded players. Last season they became very good defenders. That is a credit to Garnett. His presence was the foundation for Boston being the best defensive team in the NBA.

Sometimes the message doesn’t come through clearly enough for some players. That thought that we can simply outscore the other team is what dominates their thoughts. But when you see it first-hand it tends to have a different effect. Looking at the NBA landscape this season we find Cleveland is a much better defensive team than a year ago. Defensively they are among, if not, the best in the NBA.

The Cavaliers took a cue from Boston -- Defense wins games and raises banners.

That same message should be received at the college level. In any given year, you will find the most successful teams in March are also some of the best defensive teams. Offensive explosions may help get you to the month of March, but that alone will not get you much further.

We often hear analysts say, “This is important defensive possession.” But why is that possession any more important then the first possession of the game? Time and situation dictate that, but players should remember that all the previous possessions led to this one possession. Had you gotten a stop earlier, perhaps this would not be that most important possession of the game.

It’s simple -- Every possession is important.

It’s important to play every possession as if it were the final possession of the game. What happens in the closing moments is what analysts always highlight, but plays throughout the game will dictate whether it comes down to that proverbial final possession.

Rarely do you hear that the steal in the opening moments was the difference in the game, simply because there are so many possessions remaining. In baseball it could be the failed sacrifice in the third inning and it football it might be the dropped pass on third down in the first quarter that is talked about in the aftermath.

In both cases there is still plenty of time to overcome the failure to execute, but if you don’t overcome it with a victory it becomes the topic of discussion after the game.

But basketball is different. It’s not dissected to the extent of those other sports.

In the final analysis it’s usually a handful of possessions, during the course of the game, that determine how good or bad a team is statistically. Players have the physical ability to be excellent defenders, but they don’t always put forth that effort on every possession.

Add passion and commitment and you have defense.
 
 
QUICK TURNAROUND TIME
by Lute Olson

While fans are busy filling out their brackets, coaches are busy making preparations to face their first round opponent. And shortly after the brackets are unveiled, coaching staffs immediately begin the process of preparation.

Methods to the madness differ, but all are consistent with being very thorough.

We have always had a very detailed approach to preparing for both our first and -- potential -- second round opponents, which does not vary much from our regular season scouting system.

One of the most often used expressions is, "Our focus is solely on our next opponent." That is not exactly true.

In practice our attention is focused squarely on the next game and nothing else, but -- as a staff -- we are always trying to stay two steps ahead. As a coaching staff, we have our next three opponents scouted and that is something that we carry over to the NCAA Tournament.

And that process begins all over again when the brackets are announced on Sunday evening.

More likely than not, we already have game tapes on our first round opponent. We have an excellent video crew who tape every single college basketball game throughout the season.

One assistant coach is assigned the responsibility of breaking down every aspect of that first round opponent, from the tapes we have available. While he is examining film, another assistant will begin utilizing contacts to obtain updated game tapes.

Five to six hours after the brackets have been announced, the assigned assistant has a complete scouting report mapped out.

One of our other two assistants has the assignment of working with him on specifics of defensive approach. He answers the questions, what players do have to be concerned with, what types of sets the opponent will run in a given situation, what are their tendencies and so on.

When we convene as a staff on Monday morning, we are fully prepared to discuss approach and implement our game plan.

At the same time the first round opponent is being examined, a third assistant draws the assignment of scouting the two teams who we would possibly face in the second round, assuming that we win our opening round affair.

His breakdown also begins on Sunday evening and often goes late into the evening. But his assignment is not discussed during our Monday morning meeting. I do not want to know anything about our potential second round opponent until the first game has gone final.

Still, it is of the utmost importance the assistant that draws that assignment to have a complete understanding of both teams in advance. By the time we board the plane for our first round destination, we have a thorough breakdown on three teams.

In the days leading up to that first game, every conceivable scenario is played out. We break our preparation down to the finest detail with one simple goal in mind -- We want our players prepared for everything.

One thing that we always preach to our players is that they will never be surprised by what they encounter on game day.

Once they step foot on the floor they will know that when the opponent's guard goes left he will probably look for a screen to get his shot, if he goes right he will look to pass to the post, if he penetrates to the middle he will look to kick it back out and so on.

By no means do we do anything radically different than every other coaching staff in America. More likely than not, our approach is very similar to every team participating in the NCAA Tournament.

Some coaches put a heavy emphasis on their own teams, with the idea that if they execute their own stuff they will be successful. I have always taken a different approach, in that we want to be sure we are sound in what we want to do, but we also want to be sound and secure about what our opponent will do.

There are always going to be variations in approach and philosophy, but one thing is the same with all sixty-five coaching staffs -- They are all very thorough.
 
 
WE KNEW HIM AS COACH
by Lute Olson


It was three years ago this week that we lost one of the great people to ever coach to this game. His name is synonymous with March Madness.

The greatest compliment you can pay can pay someone in this profession is to simply call him “coach.” Admiration, success and the respect of one’s peers are what earn a man the simple title of “coach.” Coach Ray Meyer had all of those things and more.

The passing of the legendary DePaul coach was somewhat lost in the midst of first and second round action of the 2006 NCAA tournament. Ironically that is probably how coach would have preferred it. He devoted much of his life to the game he loved, never seeking the spotlight but the spotlight most certainly found him.

For more then four decades he brought class and dignity to the sidelines at DePaul University. Twice he took teams to the Final Four and seven times he guided teams to the National Invitational Tournament, including a team that featured George Mikan. At a time when the NIT was college basketball’s crowning jewel, Mikan helped coach win the 1945 NIT and the national championship.

Thirty-seven winning seasons and 724 career wins would seem unapproachable to a young man breaking into the profession today. But among his most remarkable achievements was that his second appearance in the Final Four, in 1979, came thirty-six years after his first trip, in 1943.

It was only appropriate that he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame that same year.

Equally as impressive as his staying power was his ability to take something pretty good and make it really great. So many of his teams began the season without expectations, but by season’s end he taken the average and turned it into a winner. And he did that year after year.

But it wasn’t only basketball teams that coach would touch in a positive way. Always approachable, coach wore a smile like it was his purpose. And in many ways it was. He always made every person feel like they were special. That was his way.

Through the years countless numbers would cross paths with the legendary coach and they were the better for it. But it was coach who believed he was in fact a better person for having known you. He truly loved and admired people.

As visible as he was over the last twenty-plus years, it’s hard to believe that coach actually retired following the 1984 season. His career might have concluded in an official capacity, but he really never put down the whistle.

He would remain a fixture at the University that he alone made a household name. For thirteen years he served as a Special Assistant to the President, with a focus on special projects. He would also provide color commentary for DePaul basketball games on the radio until 1997. Even then he was never more then a mid-range jumper away from the game and the program that he loved so much.

In December of 2003, the playing surface at the University’s arena was officially named “Ray and Marge Meyer Court,” in honor of coach and his late wife. And his legacy will continue.

Quite simply, he was and will always be DePaul University.

News of his passing may have been somewhat lost in all the excitement of the NCAA tournament, but those that knew would agree that he would have had it no other way.

A true coaches coach, it was never about him. It was always about the players. Therefore it was only fitting that his passing came during one of the most exciting and entertaining first weekends that the NCAA tournament has ever seen.

Once a coach -- Always a coach.

Could a phrase ever better describe a man?
 
 
 

  © Copyright CollegeInsider.com 2006. All Rights Reserved.

 
 
 
 
CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
 

Online Casinos

 

Visit CTCT sports tickets marketplace for NFL tickets, NBA tickets, baseball tickets and nascar tickets. We also have a wide selection of concert tickets online.