[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 29, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E99-E100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING COACH LEFTY DRIESELL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 29, 2003

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, for the better part of a year University of 
Maryland basketball fans have been celebrating and enjoying the 
National Championship won by the Terps in April 2002. This was a 
wonderful accomplishment for which coach Gary Williams and his players 
have been widely praised, and they deserve a tremendous amount of 
respect and credit for bringing, the University its first men's 
basketball title,
  But there is another individual whose contributions to the 2001-02 
championship season should not be overlooked--former Maryland coach 
Charles ``Lefty'' Driesell, who earlier this year retired after 41 
years in the coaching ranks. When coach Driesell arrived in College 
Park for the 1969-70 season, after having turned small Davidson College 
into a respected Division I basketball program, his stated goal was to 
make Maryland ``the UCLA of the East.'' And while no university has 
ever won titles at the rate of John Wooden's Bruins, the fact is that 
Lefty Driesell established at the University of Maryland one of the 
nation's elite basketball programs.
  Maryland fans now take for granted that the Terps will challenge for 
the ACC title, receive an invitation to the NCAA tournament, and be 
among the handful of serious contenders for a trip to the Final Four. 
But that wasn't always the case.
  Consider that during the first 50 seasons of men's basketball at the 
University, prior to the arrival of Coach Driesell, the Maryland men's 
basketball team won 53 percent of its games, twice finished the season 
ranked in the AP poll, and played in the NCAA tournament one time. In 
the 33 full seasons since Lefty came to Maryland, the Terps have a 
winning percentage of 65 percent, have been ranked 14 times, and have 
made a remarkable 19 NCAA tournament appearances.
  Because of the level of success that has been achieved and 
maintained, the University is now able to recruit from among the 
nation's top high school players. But it is the initial success, or 
``turning a program around,'' that is the difficult first step. Coach 
Williams' two Final Four appearances and National Championship last 
year were built on the foundation established by Lefty Driesell in the 
1970s and 1980s.
  Coach Driesell's career numbers are almost too much to comprehend, 
but a few are worth noting. He retires with 786 wins, behind only Dean 
Smith, Adolph Rupp and Bob Knight; he compiled 22 career 20-win 
seasons; he is the only coach to win at least 100 games at four 
schools, and one of only three coaches to take four schools to the NCAA 
tournament; he was twice voted ACC coach of the year and won more games 
during his 17 seasons in College Park than any other Maryland coach.

  But Charles Driesell was not just the ``Lefty'' we all came to know 
and love as the Maryland basketball coach. Joyce Gunter, his wife of 
more than 50 years, his four children and 8 grandchildren know him as a 
loving and committed father and husband.
  He has also been officially recognized by the NCAA as a hero for his 
actions the night of July 12, 1973. Driesell was surf fishing with some 
friends around midnight in Bethany Beach, Delaware when they spotted 
flames shooting from a nearby townhouse complex. Coach Driesell broke 
down the door and started getting the people out of the burning 
buildings, and he is credited with having saved the lives of ten 
children that evening.
  For his actions, Driesel received the NCAA Valor Award in 1974, which 
is presented to a coach or administrator currently associated with 
intercollegiate athletics, or to a current or former varsity letter-
winner at an NCAA institution who, when confronted with a situation 
involving personal danger, averted or minimized potential disaster by 
courageous action or noteworthy bravery. In the nearly 30 years since 
its creation, the award has only been presented eight times, which 
speaks to the true heroism of Coach Driesell's actions that night.

[[Page E100]]

  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Charles ``Lefty'' Driesell 
on his much-deserved retirement and thank, him for his contributions to 
the University of Maryland, its fans and the citizens of the great 
state of Maryland.

                          ____________________