Maryland
Lefty Driesell honored by former Maryland men’s basketball players, Gary Williams, Kevin Willard
COLLEGE PARK — The stories about late Maryland and Hall of Fame coach Charles Grice “Lefty” Driesell were plentiful.
“He would always say to the guys, ‘The harder you work, the luckier you get,’” said Keith Gatlin, a former guard on the 1984 Terps squad that captured the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship. “I still live by that today.”
“What I got from him mostly was about being a teammate and understand that it’s not only you,” said Jeff Baxter, another guard on that 1984 team that was recognized during halftime of Saturday night’s 85-80 loss to No. 14 Illinois at Xfinity Center. “When I came out of high school, I was ‘Da Man,’ and when I got here, he said, ‘Jeff, there are other members of the team besides you.’”
“When they write the ultimate book on basketball, he’s going to have a couple of chapters because everybody felt that they knew Lefty,” fellow Hall of Fame coach Gary Williams said.
The tributes to Driesell flowed after Saturday morning’s announcement that the venerable coach had died at the age of 92 at his home in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In 17 seasons at the helm, he guided Maryland to a 348-159 record, eight NCAA Tournament appearances, the 1972 National Invitation Tournament championship, the 1984 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament crown, and ACC regular-season titles in 1975 and 1980.
Before Driesell succeeded Frank Fellows in 1969, the Terps had not been nationally ranked since 1958. By the start of the 1971 season, they were ranked sixth in the country.
Williams, who is the only Maryland coach to rank ahead of Driesell in victories with 461, said Driesell refused to take no for an answer, and that included the notion that the school couldn’t compete with national powerhouses such as North Carolina and UCLA.
“That takes some guts to do that. Obviously, Lefty had that ability,” Williams said. “He was just great for the university, the state of Maryland.”
Driesell was the first NCAA coach to amass at least 100 wins at four different stops: Davidson (176 from 1960 to 1969), Maryland, James Madison (159 from 1988 to 1997) and Georgia Southern (103 from 1997 to 2003). His career record is 786-394 for a winning percentage of .666, and his number of Division I victories ranked fourth all-time when he retired in 2003 and currently ranks 15th.
Current Terps coach Kevin Willard quipped that during the four or five conversations he had with Driesell, “I think he told me his record quite a few times.” Willard said Driesell’s affection for the university was apparent.
“He had so much love for Maryland,” Willard said. “He always talked about Maryland, but more than anything, he would always ask me about my family or talk about his kids. … I always enjoyed more the fact that the conversation would get to [his son] Chuck or his kids or my kids.”
Driesell was voted Coach of the Year nine times in four different conferences. He was elected in 2018 to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Before Saturday’s game, a member of the university’s athletic communications division asked students who had arrived early to practice their dance mob rendition to throw up Driesell’s signature double-V signs before and during a pregame moment of silence for the late coach. At least one fan yelled, “Thank you!” at the start, and another shouted, “Amen!” at the end.
Baxter said Driesell made sure his players always enjoyed “top-notch” treatment. But that also meant that he expected “top-notch” effort from them.
“We would be losing a game or have lost a game, and he would turn to us and say, ‘I’m going to find me five,’” Baxter said. “So of course everybody gets all nervous and starts thinking, ‘That means we’re losing our starting spot,’ or, ‘He’s taking us out of the game.’ Right then and there, we would become motivated, and we would get going.”
Former forward Terry Long said Driesell set a high bar for his frontcourt players because Driesell was a center at Duke.
“He was always hard on us big guys in the post,” Long said. “He wanted us to be physical and hard, and one of his biggest things was, ‘You’ve got to be like Buck [Williams]. You’ve got to be mean and nasty.’ That was one of the things that I remember and cherish about his style of coaching.”
Off the court, Driesell established lifelong bonds with his players. One of Gatlin’s favorite memories was spending weekends with Driesell and his family, playing one-on-one with Chuck Driesell in the driveway on Saturdays and attending church with the family on Sundays.
“He was way before his time,” Gatlin said. “With the kids now, you have to connect before you can correct, and he really connected with us more so off the court.”
People often mistook Driesell’s Southern drawl for a lack of intelligence. Gatlin and former forward Herman Veal said Driesell would use that to his advantage on the recruiting trail, often targeting and winning over the mothers of potential players.
“He could throw on that old country boy [look], but when you sat down and spoke with him, you knew you were in his presence,” Veal said. “He had a master’s degree [from William and Mary]. Lefty was no dummy. Lefty was as dumb as a fox, as we would say.”
Driesell is recognized as the architect behind “Midnight Madness,” the pep rally-type celebrations to open the first official day of team practice that spread nationally. As legend has it, Driesell organized a one-mile run around the track for his players inside the university’s football stadium at 12:03 a.m. on Oct. 15, 1971, that drew 1,000 onlookers.
Driesell also convinced athletic director Jim Kehoe to put seats around the court inside Cole Field House to create more of a homefield advantage for the Terps. Williams said Driesell’s ideas didn’t remain in College Park very long.
“A lot of coaches benefited from him because we as coaches steal from him,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that Lefty did that helped a lot of programs across the country.”
Willard echoed that sentiment, saying, “Obviously, Lefty was a huge part of Maryland basketball, but he was also a really big part of college basketball. So it’s tough when you lose a legend, especially at your school, but I think college basketball today really lost somebody that gave a lot to the game of basketball. So we just want to let Lefty’s family know that we said a prayer for him before the game.”
The state said the five recently traveled together to “a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak.”
Maryland health officials confirmed five more measles cases, all in Carroll County.
“These individuals recently traveled together to a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak,” the state Department of Health said in a release.
The agency said others may have been exposed on the afternoon of July 13 in the emergency department waiting room at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster.
Another measles case recently prompted warnings from health officials in Maryland, Virginia and the District. On June 17, a Maryland resident traveled through Dulles International Airport and visited a D.C. urgent care clinic.
Measles is highly contagious. It can spread through the air through coughs, breathing, and sneezes. Early symptoms can include fevers of over 101 degrees, coughs, runny noses, watery eyes and face or body rashes.
It can take up to 21 days after exposure for the first symptoms to appear, and those who are not fully vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles are especially vulnerable.
The five new measles cases in Maryland bring the state’s year-to-date total to nine. The state health department confirmed three cases in 2025, and one in each of the previous two years.
“All Marylanders should review potential exposure times, watch for symptoms, and confirm they are up to date on their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations,” the health department said.
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Baltimore may be under an extreme heat alert, but residents can dream about autumn, as tickets are now on sale for the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show returning to the Maryland State Fairgrounds in October.
This three-day celebration of home and garden takes place from Friday, Oct. 16 through Sunday, Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Expect hundreds of exhibitors, local makers, home improvement experts, family-friendly experiences and celebrity guests. The show offers everyone the chance to explore the very latest in home improvement, landscaping, outdoor living and decor, the chance to take part in hands-on experiences, and do some holiday shopping all under one roof.
This year’s show will have more than 300 exhibitors, including more than 100 crafters from around Maryland in the Makers Market. There will be unique exhibits, stage presentations and a special appearance by Chase Morrill, Ashley Morrill-Eldridge and Ryan Eldridge from Magnolia Network’s hit series “Maine Cabin Masters.” The three will have two Main Stage appearances, one on Friday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. and the second on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 12 p.m.
“As temperatures start to drop and the holiday season comes into view, the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show is a place to gather ideas, meet local experts and get inspired before the busy season begins,” said Dave Paul, show manager, in a statement. “Whether attendees are planning a home project, looking for outdoor living ideas or getting a head start on holiday shopping, the show brings together resources and experiences for every kind of homeowner, maker and DIY enthusiast.”
In addition to the Makers Market and stars of “Maine Cabin Masters”, the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show will have a petting zoo, a Kids Market where attendees can shop from local children, and much more.
Tickets are available online and at the door. Prices are as follows:
Online:
- Adults: $8
- Senior Citizens (60+): $6
- Children (ages 6-12): $4
- 4-Pack Online: $30 for four tickets, valid for one admission each and one day only
At the door:
- Adults: $10
- Senior Citizens (60+): $8
- Children (ages 6-12): $4
- Friday & Saturday: $4 after 4 p.m. at the door only
Special Offers:
- Active and retired military personnel, veterans, firefighters and police officers receive free admission all weekend, along with one guest, with valid ID at the box office.
- Attendees who show a CharmPass app, Light RailLink ticket or eligible transit pass at the box office receive free admission any day of the show. One admission is available per pass.
The Maryland State Fairgrounds is located at 2200 York Road in Lutherville-Timonium.
Related
Maryland
Maryland police arrest alleged bank robber wielding stolen cat: ‘Tried to use her as an accessory’
Law enforcement agencies are accustomed to dealing with cat burglars – but now a Maryland police department is saying it grappled with a cat-wielding bank robber.
The Prince George’s county police department said its officers arrested a man suspected of stealing a cat and then taking the animal with him to a PNC bank branch in the local community of Beltsville to rob the establishment on Monday morning.
“The cat was returned” after the suspect was arrested, the police department said in a statement to the Guardian on Tuesday. The agency said no injuries were reported, and it declined to name the suspect or release additional details, saying the case – bound for a spot in the annals of bizarre reported US crimes – remained under investigation.
Nonetheless, a social media post from rescue shelter Beltsville Community Cats provided more information.
A Beltsville Community Cats Facebook page post on Monday identified the cat at the center of the alleged botched caper as Magnolia, a three-and-a-half-month-old tuxedo kitten. The shelter recounted how the suspect first snatched Magnolia from her “adoption habitat” at Beltsville’s Pet Supplies Plus store, took her across the parking lot to a PNC branch, and “tried to use her as an accessory in [an] attempted robbery”.
“He asked the bank manager to hold the kitten while he wrote a note, then handed the note to a teller demanding all the cash,” the post continued. “Thankfully, the robbery was unsuccessful, the suspect was arrested, and Magnolia was found safe and sound in the bank manager’s office, where the two had bonded over their shared ordeal.”
Pet Supplies Plus store employees told the NBC affiliate in nearby Washington DC that Magnolia’s cat napper had come in daily for about two weeks and focused on the kitten each time.
Finally, on Monday, he managed to use a key to open a cat adoption area and whisked Magnolia away, store employees said to the outlet, WRC.
Store manager Aaron Kurkowski told WRC that Magnolia’s thief “came in and saw none of my team was nearby the front – and he just went right to her and ran right on out”.
According to WRC, Stephanie Stullich of Beltsville Community Cats then received a call from a pet store employee who alerted her to Magnolia’s plight.
That prompted Stullich to run over to the store, where she said to WRC that she “immediately saw all of these police cars and … thought, ‘Wow, that’s a heck of a response for a stolen cat’.”
“But then I realized they all were going down to the bank,” Stullich recalled to WRC. “They came back out a few minutes later and said, ‘Yes, there is a cat inside the bank.’”
Two days before her catnapping, Magnolia was the subject of a Beltsville Community Cats Facebook post inviting people to see her at Pet Supplies Plus and consider adopting her.
Magnolia as of Monday was still waiting to be adopted, Beltsville Community Cats said in its post detailing the bank robbery.
The non-profit organization offered members of the public the opportunity to apply to adopt Magnolia by emailing rescue@beltsvillecats.net.
Beltsville Community Cats’ post also joked that Magnolia’s “brief ‘life of crime’ is behind her” – except for undoubtedly “stealing” hearts, treats, toys and cuddles wherever her forever home may be.
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