SPORTS

 

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Lefty Driesell and Terry Holland, two of the men who helped establish the winning Davidson men’s basketball tradition, will soon have their legacies recognized in Belk Arena.

Driesell and Holland’s jersey retirement ceremony will take place Saturday, January 29 when Davidson hosts Atlantic 10 foe La Salle at 12 p.m. inside Belk Arena. More details will follow at a later date.

They join the five retired player jerseys already hanging in Belk: Hobby Cobb (No. 21), Fred Hetzel (No. 44), Dick Snyder (No. 10), John Gerdy (No. 33) and Derek Rucker (No. 11).

Comments from Director of Athletics Chris Clunie
“We are thrilled to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of both Lefty Driesell and Terry Holland. Lefty put Davidson Basketball and Davidson College on the national stage, building a basketball powerhouse throughout the ’60s. Terry, one of the most integral parts of that amazing era as both a player and a coach, went on to become one of the most influential figures in ACC basketball history before returning to Davidson as Athletic Director and leading the program to new heights. Lefty and Terry will forever be linked in Davidson Basketball lore and they deserve to receive the highest honor as two giants of Davidson Athletics history.”

About Charles “Lefty” Driesell
Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018, Driesell coached at Davidson for nine seasons, guiding the Wildcats to a 176-65 record, five regular season titles, three Southern Conference Tournament crowns (1966, 1968 and 1969) and Elite Eight appearances in 1968 and 1969.

Voted Southern Conference Coach of the Year four times, Driesell’s Davidson teams were ranked nationally among the Top-10 four times, including as high as second in 1969.

In addition, several of his recruits – Fred Hetzel ’65 and Dick Snyder ’66 – were first-team All-Americans, and both enjoyed successful careers in the National Basketball Association.

Second on Davidson’s all-time wins’ list behind current head coach Bob McKillop, Driesell led the Wildcats to six straight 20-win seasons.

Following his tenure at Davidson, Driesell coached at Maryland (1969-86), James Madison (1988-96) and Georgia State (1997-2003), becoming the first in NCAA history to win more than 100 games at four different Division I schools.

In all, Driesell won 786 games (12th in DI history), earned nine conference coach-of-the-year honors and led his teams to 21 postseason season appearances – 13 NCAA and 8 NIT.

Driesell is also a member of the Davidson, Maryland, Southern Conference, Virginia Sports and College Basketball Hall of Fames.

About Terry Holland
Lefty Driesell’s first freshman recruit, Holland played for the Wildcats from 1961-1964. A blue-chip player from Clinton, N.C., Holland concluded his standout career ranked among Davidson’s Top-5 in scoring and rebounding.
During his senior year, he led the ‘Cats to a 22-4 overall record and Davidson’s first-ever Top-10 National Ranking.

After serving as an assistant coach (1964-69) for the Wildcats following graduation, Holland succeeded Lefty as head coach, compiling a record of 92-43 over five years and earning Southern Conference Coach of the Year three times.

Following two postseason appearances as the Wildcats’ head coach, including a berth in the 1970 NCAA Tournament, he took over at the University of Virginia where he compiled a record of 326-173 over 16 years. In addition, he took the Cavaliers to the NCAA Tournament eight times, reaching the Final Four twice, and the NIT four times, winning the championship once. He was named ACC Coach of the Year twice, in 1981 and 1982.

In 1990, Holland returned to his alma mater to become the athletic director, a position he would hold from 1990-94.

As Athletic Director, Holland was a leader with credibility, integrity, and vision. He worked hard to gain re-entry into the Southern Conference, to attract the NCAA Soccer Championship to Davidson, and to provide a broad program for men and women student athletes.
At his departure in June 1995, the Davidson Athletic Program of 21 varsity teams had become an exemplar of his personal ideals, and a model for many other educational institutions.

Holland later served as the Director of Athletics at Virginia (1994-2001) and East Carolina University (2004-13).