IOWA CITY, IOWA — Lefty Driesell's career was influenced and, ultimately, overshadowed by Dean Smith's.
When he was coaching at little Davidson College during the 1960s, Driesell's teams were twice denied a trip to the Final Four by Smith's North Carolina Tar Heels.
On the morning after Smith died at age 83, Driesell said that was a large part of the reason he left the tiny North Carolina school to come to Maryland in 1969, taking the job right after one of those losses took place at Cole Field House.
"He would never play us [during the regular season]," said Driesell, who is also 83. "One reason I came to Maryland is that I wanted to play all the ACC schools. I was ranked higher than them. He would never play us."
After getting to Maryland, Driesell built his image into a foot-stomping, shoot-from-the-lip Southerner who turned the Terps into a national power. By the time Driesell got to the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Tar Heels were a force despite their coach's quiet image.
"He was very careful about what he said, he was very polite," Driesell said, "I opened my mouth a lot and said the wrong things. He was smart."
The two were never close when they were coaching, which is just as Driesell wanted it.
"We were both fierce competitors," he said. "The CEO of General Motors doesn't hang out with the CEO of Ford. We were friendly, we spoke and everything, but when he retired and I retired we stayed in touch."
Driesell said he knew something was wrong a few years ago, when he called Smith to ask about his summer plans.
"I asked, 'When are you going to the beach? Which beach you going to?' He said, 'I think it's off Route 24,'" Driesell recalled. "I said, 'You spent too much time working with four corners.' He said, 'What are you talking about, four corners?'"
As Smith's memory faded and his health deteriorated, Driesell stayed in touch with his former coaching rival through Charlie Scott, the player Driesell once accused Smith of stealing from Davidson.
Scott was the one who called Driesell Sunday to inform him of Smith's passing.
"It's very sad," Driesell said. "But he had a great life."