Hard-Sell Hype With a Flourish : Driesell Never Stops Recruiting, Even When He’s Lost

Lefty Driesell was working hard, trying to recruit the most ballyhooed high school basketball player in the Western Hemisphere, 6-foot-10, 245-pound J.R. Reid, of Kempsville High in Virginia Beach, Va. But hard as he was working, massaging Reid’s ego, assuring him that he was Maryland’s prepaid ticket to glory, Driesell wasn’t having much luck.

This was the evening of March 4--more than a month before the national letter-of-intent signing period was to begin--and Reid was ready to announce that he had finally chosen a school from his list of five finalists: Maryland, Virginia, Iowa, UCLA and North Carolina. In phone calls to the head coaches of the five schools, Reid’s coach, Dick Ponti, revealed that J.R. had chosen--sound the trumpet, please--North Carolina.

Waving white flags, the coaches from Virginia, Iowa and UCLA bowed out of the race, wishing Reid luck. But the coach from Maryland was in no mood for such graciousness. Not only had he just lost the player he had dreamed would lead Maryland to its first NCAA basketball championship, he had been clobbered again by his Atlantic Coast Conference coaching nemesis, Dean Smith.

“When I phoned him, Coach Driesell asked me, ‘Is J.R.’s decision definite?’ ” Ponti recalled. “I said, ‘Yeah, coach, it’s definite.’ He said, ‘Do you think there’s a chance of J.R. changing his mind?’ I said, ‘Coach, I’ll be honest with you. There really isn’t.’ ”

But Driesell wasn’t ready to surrender--and he made that clear in repeated phone calls to Reid and his parents.

“Coach Driesell told me, ‘If you come to Maryland, you’ll play 40 minutes a game, be all-America and step right into Len Bias’ spot without any difficulties,’ ” Reid remembered. “He probably thought he could change my mind because he’s done it before with other players. He said he’d stolen Tom McMillen from Carolina after Carolina had stolen Charlie Scott from him. And he said Carolina had stolen another player from him. So he said he was one down and hoping I’d come to Maryland.”

Reid politely informed the coach that his decision was final. But Driesell pressed on. Maybe, he figured, he would get lucky.

“Getting down to signing time, Coach Driesell was saying anything to get me,” Reid said. “At one point, he said there was nothing to do in Chapel Hill. He said the life style at Maryland is more to my liking and I’d be able to do more things, have more fun, enjoy my college life better at Maryland. I told him I wasn’t from a big city, and big-city things might not be the best thing for me. Then he changed. He said, ‘Well, if you don’t want to hang out in the big city, you can always relax. But there are always a few clubs you can still go to. In Chapel Hill there’s none of that.’ I knew better because I had been to Chapel Hill.”

Again, Reid told Driesell, “I’m going to North Carolina, and I’m not changing my mind.” Again, Driesell persisted. “He was the only coach who wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” said J.R.’s father, Herman Reid. “But we expected that from Coach Driesell,” said J.R.’s mother, Jean Reid. “He’s a fighter.” And for Driesell, the fight had only begun.

If Driesell’s behavior seems a bit overbearing, a bit desperate, so be it: This is Lefty.

Understand this about Maryland’s never-say-quit basketball coach: hard as he has worked, he has had little luck in attracting any world-beating big men to his campus in recent years. He has lost Ralph Sampson to Virginia, Chris Washburn to North Carolina State, Danny Manning to Kansas, to name a few, and now he was losing Reid, a player he had been romancing for more than three years.

Driesell hasn’t signed--and kept--the top big man from a recruiting class since 1970, when McMillen opted for Maryland after first committing to North Carolina. Of course, that merely puts Driesell in the company of hundreds of other coaches. But with Driesell, expectations are higher, not only because he promised when he arrived at Maryland 17 years ago that he would build a dynasty similar to John Wooden’s at UCLA, but because he is one of basketball’s most colorful, resourceful and, certainly, accomplished recruiters.

Driesell has successfully recruited seven players who would eventually be selected in the first round of an NBA draft: McMillen, Len Elmore, John Lucas, Brad Davis, Buck Williams, Albert King and Bias, who died of cardiac arrest induced by cocaine use two days after the Boston Celtics made him the second choice in the 1986 draft. In his 26 years as a college coach--the first nine were at Davidson--he has compiled a 523-223 record, which ranks fourth for most victories among active NCAA Division I coaches. And he would have won even more games, no doubt, perhaps even a national championship, if Moses Malone, his finest recruit ever, hadn’t signed a pro contract on the day he was to enroll for classes at Maryland.

Now 54, Charles Grice (Lefty) Driesell still recruits with a style that is--well, have you ever gone one on one with an encyclopedia salesman? Then you may understand Lefty. Matter of fact, you may know Lefty because in the ‘50s, before he accepted the job at Davidson, he sold World Books for a living. And, as Driesell will tell you, selling encyclopedias isn’t much different than selling universities. Both demand a hard sell.

But in luring athletes to College Park, Driesell does more than hard-sell his university. Using techniques that would make an encyclopedia salesman smile, he also sells himself, his success and the Washington metropolitan area. Gleaned from letters he has mailed to prospective players in recent years, here is a sampling of the recruiting pitches that Driesell has used:

--Sign with Maryland and We’ll Conquer the World. In a letter to Washburn during the summer after his junior year, Driesell wrote: “There is no doubt in my mind that if we get you in a Maryland uniform we are going to win four national championships.” (Asked recently if he really thought Washburn could have led the Terrapins to four straight NCAA titles, Driesell said, at first, “I doubt if I said that,” suggesting the letter may have been forged. But when he was shown a copy of the letter, Driesell said that although he had signed the letter it probably had been written by one of his assistants. “I do that sometimes,” Driesell said. Finally, Driesell allowed, “I might have written that because that sounds like me.”)

--You’re My No. 1 Priority. “You are the No. 1 player in the country that I want in a Maryland basketball uniform,” Driesell wrote Washburn during his junior year. But three months later, Driesell wrote Manning: “We consider you as our top prospect.” Of those letters, Driesell said, “I don’t know how I could have said that.”

--Lest You Forget, I Signed Moses. In a letter to Washburn, Driesell wrote: “ . . . As you know, Moses signed with me at the University of Maryland and we have remained close friends for many years. I would like very much for you to meet Moses and talk to him because I think he can give you some great advice on how to keep improving in basketball and also I know he will tell you that Maryland would be a great situation for you both as a student and as an athlete.” In another letter to Washburn, Driesell wrote: “I feel certain that once you have visited our campus and seen the academic, social and athletic atmosphere here in College Park that you are going to fall in love with Maryland just like Moses Malone, Len Elmore, Buck Williams, Albert King, John Lucas, and some of the other highly recruited athletes that we have had in our program.” Driesell failed to mention that Malone, who recently was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Washington Bullets, never played a minute in a Maryland uniform. (Asked about the letter, Driesell said he assumes high school basketball stars already know that Malone never played for the Terrapins.)

--Fear Not: I’ll Make You a Star. Driesell to 6-foot-11 Andre Reyes of Manning, S.C.: “My coaching staff and I plan on making you an all-ACC center by your sophomore year, and all-America by your junior year. You are the man we need to take us to the Final Four.” In another letter, Driesell wrote to Reyes: “Lets you and I work hard together and bring Maryland its first NCAA championship and get you that million dollar contract your senior year.”

Driesell’s hard-sell approach is typified by his recruitment last year of Reyes, who was determined to select a college during the fall national letter-of-intent signing period, between Nov. 13 and Nov. 20.

During his official recruiting visit to College Park last September, Reyes said he met with Chancellor John B. Slaughter, was escorted around campus by a cheerleader, watched the Maryland-West Virginia football game, attended a party, and took a sightseeing tour of Washington.

During the visit, Reyes said he informed Driesell that, “Right now, Maryland is my No. 1 choice.” But somehow, Reyes said, Driesell interpreted that to mean that he had decided to attend Maryland. On the day he returned to South Carolina, Reyes received a Mailgram from Driesell: “Just wanted you to know that I have not been this elated since I signed Moses Malone. I can’t wait to get you in a Maryland uniform so we can really get to work.” In a phone conversation, Reyes said he told Driesell that he had not, in fact, decided to attend Maryland. (Of the misunderstanding, Driesell said, “I’d rather not get into that.”)

On Oct. 10, Driesell made his fourth visit in 16 days to Manning, S.C. Reyes said he again assured Driesell that Maryland was his leading contender, and he asked him for an assurance that he would be coaching the Terrapins for at least the next five years. “I told Coach Driesell, ‘I don’t want to get into a situation where I come there and you leave and another coach comes in who’s a dictator,’ ” Reyes said.

The following day, Driesell wrote to Reyes, “I just wanted to drop you a note and tell you how elated all of us are here at the University of Maryland about your decision to attend Maryland. Andre, the next four years of your life will be the happiest you’ve ever spent and you have my word of honor that I am going to work with you day and night to make sure that you receive your degree at the end of four years and become the best possible basketball player. . . . To set your mind at ease, I am putting in writing at this time that I guarantee you that, God willing, I will be the head basketball coach at the University of Maryland for at least the next five years.”

Which was fine, except that Reyes still was considering several other schools, most notably Georgetown.

Reyes said he noticed a distinct difference in the recruiting techniques of Driesell and John Thompson, the Georgetown coach. “Coach Thompson is the father figure who doesn’t want you just for basketball,” he said. “He wants you to come there and get your education, to get the most out of school that you can, then play basketball. He really stresses academics, which I think is good. When we first started talking academics, it wasn’t like he was talking about it too much. But after awhile you kind of got the feeling that that’s what’s really on his mind and that’s really what he’s pushing.

“Coach Driesell is like a brother. He is a person you can really get down and talk to if you have a problem or just want to get something off your mind. You can really talk to him. I feel Coach Driesell is a little looser than Coach Thompson. He jokes with you and he makes you feel comfortable.”

In one conversation, Reyes said he casually mentioned to Driesell that if he would like to wear a 0 or 00 on his uniform. Several days later, Reyes received a letter from Driesell’s assistant, Oliver Purnell: “Coach Driesell mentioned to me that you were interested in seeing what your jersey would look like with both a zero and a double zero, so I had a couple of jerseys printed up and I took some Polaroid pictures of them. I personally think that any number would look fine as long as Andre Reyes is in the uniform.”

On Nov. 18, Reyes signed with Maryland.

“I can’t tell you how excited and thrilled we all are here about your decision to attend the University of Maryland,” wrote Driesell. “Andre, you are a fine young man and I am sure you will do well academically and on the court. . . . Remember, ‘the harder you work, the luckier you get.’ ”

Hard as he was working, Lefty Driesell was having little luck persuading J.R. Reid that he should sign with Maryland. Over a 12-month period, he had made at least 15 trips to the Virginia Beach area to watch him play. He had tried the angle about Chapel Hill being a retirement village. He had reminded J.R. that Ol’ Lefty also grew up in southeastern Virginia. He had assured him that he would receive nationwide media exposure in the Washington area. And he had promised J.R. that he would rarely, if ever, sit on the bench.

But now, on April 8, the night before the spring signing period was to begin, Driesell had only one angle left: he would appeal to J.R.’s father to postpone the signing. (As for the ethics of recruiting a player who had orally committed to another school, Driesell said, “People do that to my players all the time. In this case, Dean Smith did it to Charlie Scott and actually got Charlie Scott to change his mind. So I have no qualms whatsoever against doing that. J.R. was not North Carolina’s property in any way, shape or form.”)

Herman Reid recalled his final-hour phone conversation with Driesell as follows:

Driesell: “You know, J.R. can still sign with Maryland. J.R. would get all the playing time he wanted and he wouldn’t have to share playing time like he would with all of these other tall kids who are playing his position at Carolina. He might average 25 minutes down there.”

Reid: “J.R. has given his word to North Carolina, and a person’s word is as good as he is. And J.R.’s word is good. He’s going to Carolina. Now it’s just a matter of him signing tomorrow.”

Driesell: “Well, you can hold up. You don’t have to sign right away. It’s not fair for Carolina to get all of the big kids.”

Reid: “J.R. is signing tomorrow with North Carolina.”

Driesell: “J.R. doesn’t have to sign tomorrow.”

Reid: “What about the kid’s word? He’s given his word to Carolina.”

Driesell: “Well, that’s nothing ‘til you sign.”

Reid: “You’ve got to respect people’s rights and privileges to do what they want to do.”

Driesell: “It’s not over until he signs.”

The following day, it was over. “I chose Carolina because of the players they had coming back and, you know, Coach Smith is the top coach in college basketball now,” J.R. Reid explained. “There’s nothing wrong with Maryland. It’s a fine school. But I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play four years for Coach Smith.”

In the living room of their home in Virginia Beach, Herman and Jean Reid reflected on Driesell’s fervent effort to recruit their son.

“He was the only coach, after J.R. had announced he was going to Carolina, who continued to recruit him,” Herman Reid said. “The other schools sent word, saying, ‘We wish you the best. Thanks for considering us.’ But Coach Driesell tried all the way down to the deadline.”

“But that’s the way Coach Driesell is,” Jean Reid said.

“Lefty goes after the players he wants wholeheartedly,” Herman Reid said. “But that’s Lefty.”

“He’s a fighter,” Jean Reid said.

“There’s no doubt about that,” Herman Reid said. “Lefty’s a fighter.”