Jan. 20, 2003

By Angela Lento
CollegeInsider.com

Charles "Lefty" Driesell in his own words said, "It was no big deal," but his actions on a summer night in 1974 saved the lives of 10 children.

Lefty Driesell spent the evening of July 12 like he had done so many nights before -- fishing in Bethany Beach, Delaware. He has his friend Paul Williamson didn't catch a lot of fish that night, but they did catch a glimpse of something else.

"It was about two o'clock in the morning," says Driesell. "We had turned around and noticed fire coming out of condominiums on the beach so we just ran up there to wake everybody up."

In true Driesell fashion, he downplayed the entire series of events, saying that they just helped to alert people so they could get out of the building. But if not for Driesell's quick thinking, lives would have been lost.

The 6-foot-5 Driesell broke down doors and began the process of removing 10 children from the burning buildings, which consumed and destroyed four dwellings.

"It wasn't really a big deal," says Driesell. "They made it out to be a big thing because I was a public figure, we just woke people up."

The firemen did not arrive until some 30-minutes after Driesell and Williamson had begun the evacuation, but incredibly there wasn't a single injury.

Clearly, Driesell's actions were the difference.

Judge Samuel Melroy called Driesell a true hero and he was recognized with the inaugural NCAA Valor Award.

But nearly 30 years later, what Driesell remembers most about the evening are all the people who were awoken suddenly.

"We had people asking us what we wanted and telling us to get out of here," laughed Driesell. "I said, 'this place is on fire so you better get out of here too.'"

PATTON

Driesell's playful manner and sense of humor are well documented, but through the years some of his close friends have turned the tables on the future hall of fame coach, in particular, his longtime assistant, Bart Bellairs.

Bellairs spent eight seasons with Driesell, at Maryland and can speak volumes about Driesell as a coach and a person. And he can also fill a few pages with some classic tales.

"I was an assistant for eight years with Lefty and I saw him have fun with a lot of people," says VMI head coach Bellairs, "but we had some fun at his expense a few times too."

One such occasion came in the early 1980s, when video tapes and the VCR were a relatively new form of home entertainment. These were the early days of bus trips highlighted by a movie on the ride home.

"We had a game at William & Mary and I was on the road recruiting," says Bellairs. "I called the trainer to make sure everything was okay for the trip and he said they had a problem. Apparently coach Driesell had gone to the video store to get the movie 'Patton' and in the process he got into an argument with the guy behind the counter. The guy was trying to tell him that the movie came on two tapes. Well, Lefty didn't want to hear that. He told him that he didn't want part I and part II he just wanted 'Patton.'"

To avoid further argument, the sales person let coach Driesell leave with just one tape and that is when the fun began.

"I had been out recruiting all day so after the game I started the video then went to sit in the back of the bus to sleep," laughed Bellairs. "But I wasn't really going to sleep. I wanted to see how this was going to work out with just one tape."

Bellairs kept one eye on the movie as the first tape came to an end, but he wasn't about to lend a hand.

"I knew he wasn't going to be happy," laughed Bellairs. "It got to the part when the donkeys are in the way so Patton has them thrown over the bridge and then the movie goes blank. Coach Driesell gets up and looks back at me and of course I am not going to move so he figures he can handle the situation himself. He hits the eject button, takes the tape out, turns it upside down and tries to put it back in the VCR."

There is little doubt that the same mistake was made by countless people, when the VCR was first introduced. Unfortunately, coach Driesell's mistake was seen first hand by his charismatic assistant.

CHEESECAKE

From William & Mary to a home visit, Bellairs offered up some advice to coach Driesell. You will most likely never look at cheesecake the same way again.

"Coach Driesell was always dieting," says Bellairs, "And one night we had a recruit visiting so coach had him and the entire team over to his house. Well, there was a really nice looking cheesecake on the table. It has whipped cream and cherries and looked awful good. It looked so good that I was afraid that coach Driesell was going to ignore the recruit and focus on that cake. Finally, I told him that I could slice that so thin that there won't be any calories in it at all. Well, he jumped all over that idea so I cut it razor-thin for him. About an hour-and-half later, coach Driesell had eaten 56 of those razor-thin slices. If one slice had no calories than 56 times zero would equal zero calories."

All joking aside, Bellairs regards coach Driesell as one of the finest people he has ever known and one of the best to ever coach.

"Think about this," says Bellairs, "He won nearly 800 games at programs that weren't that good when he arrived. Had he had the opportunity to go to an established program that already had a winning tradition, he might have won more games than anyone. He's the best."

Bellairs plans on expanding on those thoughts in an up-coming "coach column," for CollegeInsider.com.

ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM

If you talk to Rice head coach Willis Wilson about coaching you are sure to hear the passion for his trade. Talk to him about being named College Basketball's best-dressed coach in 2002 and you'll hear the excitement, but talk to him about the 'need for speed' and you'll hear a boyish enthusiasm.

"It's an adrenaline rush," says Wilson. "When you are out there going in upwards of 150 miles per hour, there is nothing like it.

Like so many born and raised in Indianapolis, Ind., Wilson grew up dreaming of checkered flags and the taste of milk in the winner's circle. And a couple of years ago, he fulfilled that dream, when he strapped himself in and zipped around the oval at the Las Vegas Speedway.

"It was something that I always wanted to do," says Wilson. "Once I popped the clutch and the engine up, it was pure adrenaline. My first lap was 152 miles per hour and my average speed was 135."

Wilson's wife, Vicki, surprised him with a pass to Cart Racing 101, in Vegas, where race enthusiasts get the opportunity to drive the same cars used in the Sylvester Stallone movie, "Driven."

Wilson was given a crash course in the basics of the sport, before accelerating around the 1.5 mile oval track. The entire experience lasted about four hours, but it's one that will last a lifetime.

"It was big time," says Wilson. "It's something that you have to try. The cars are very safe and once you get going you cannot believe how well they handle. It's like driving 60 or 70 miles per hour on the highway."

Wilson doesn't have any immediate plans to follow in the footsteps of Paul Newman and make career change in his forties, but he does plan to get behind the wheel again in the future.

Packages range from $375.00 for beginners, to as much as $3,100 for the hard core racing and you can learn more by visiting Driving101.com.

BREAKING DOWN FILM

Marist coach Dave Magarity recently eclipsed the 300-win plateau and is widely regarded by his piers as being an excellent coach. But Magarity is better known by his fellow coaches as college basketball's Roger Ebert.

In the fall of 2000, Magarity thought it would be a nice distraction, from the day-to-day rigors, to do a weekly column reviewing movies. A little over two years later, Magarity has become something of a cult figure among coaches.

"The whole thing came about as a way to bring attention to the bus trips that all programs take during the season," says Magarity. "Everybody watches a video on the trip home so I just wanted to recommend some movies that coaches might want to show their teams. Obviously I had no idea that it would become what it has."

What it has become is a national sensation, as Magarity receives an abundance of emails from both coaches and fans all across the country.

"I have actually gotten emails from people who said they enjoy the columns and have started to follow Marist basketball because they enjoyed them so much. The response has been tremendous."

For years, Magarity has been both respected and admired for his lovable personality by coaches and media in the Northeast. But his knowledge of films and unique tongue-and-cheek style has expanded his territory.

And quite often those fans and coaches have approached Magarity to tell him how much they like his literary style.

"It's great stuff," says Sam Houston State head coach Bob Marlin. "I knew who Dave was, but I had no idea he was such a character until I started reading his columns. At the Final Four, I introduced myself and told him how much I love reading his reviews."

Make no mistake about, Magarity really does know his movies, but he has found his niche by taking the normally mundane critique and turning it into an entertaining read.

Through his columns, he has frequently poked fun at some of his coaching friends calling Iona's Jeff Ruland "Waylon Jennings on steroids" and Florida's Billy Donovan an "Eddie Munster clone."

Magarity has reviewed everything from "The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires" and "The Blob" to John Wayne films and the women of James Bond movies. But what he enjoys most is reviewing the favorite films of fellow coaches.

"Your favorite film can say a lot about your personality," says Magarity. "All too often, we don't see the human side of coaches and this is just one way to add a face to the name. I think fans can learn a little more about a Kelvin Sampson [Oklahoma] because his favorite film is "The Outlaw Josey Wales" or a Craig Esherick [Georgetown] because his all-time favorite actress is Sophia Loren. The whole thing is a lot of fun."

Whether he is outlining another coaches selection or poking fun at himself, referring to his make up being "portly and stout," clearly coach Magarity has gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it all and he's picked up a few new fans in the process.

That fan base has grown so much that in March, a Dave Magarity bobble head doll will be unveiled. It is sure to be a collector's item.