Folksy, fiery former Georgia State basketball coach Lefty Driesell dies at 92

Former Georgia State University coach Lefty Driesell speaks during a news conference for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2018 announcement, Saturday, March 31, 2018, in San Antonio. Driesell, the coach whose folksy drawl belied a fiery on-court demeanor that put Maryland on the college basketball map and enabled him to rebuild several struggling programs, died Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. He was 92.(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Lefty Driesell, the Hall of Fame coach whose folksy drawl belied a fiery on-court demeanor that put Maryland on the college basketball map and enabled him to rebuild several struggling programs, died Saturday. He was 92.

Driesell died at his home in Virginia Beach, Virginia, his family said.

Maryland planned to honor Driesell with a moment of silence before its game against No. 14 Illinois later Saturday. The university said the team would wear throwback uniforms from the 1970s previously worn on Jan. 21, when the Terrapins honored Driesell with an “Ode to Lefty.”