The San José State men’s basketball program has added over three decades of coaching experience and a variety of postseason successes as a player, assistant and head coach with the hiring of Chuck Driesell as an assistant coach beginning the 2015-16 season. Spartans’ head coach Dave Wojcik made the announcement.
“Chuck brings an unrivaled level of coaching experience to our program,” Wojcik said. “He has been very successful as both an assistant and head coach at every level. Chuck is a relentless recruiter, possesses a tremendous basketball IQ, and has a great presence on the court. Our players and coaches all look forward to learning from Coach Driesell on a daily basis.”
Driesell reached the NCAA Tournament three times as a shooting guard at Maryland, and went back to the big dance as many times during a return to his alma mater as an assistant coach. His 12 postseason appearances as a player and coach include seven trips to the NCAA Tournament and five NIT bids.
Under head coach Gary Williams, Driesell helped lead Maryland to an 89-47 record during four seasons (2006-10) as an assistant coach and lead recruiting coordinator. The Terrapins ended the 2009-10 season with a share of the ACC regular season title, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s second round.
Driesell was a four-year letterwinner at Maryland from 1981 through 1985. He was part of four postseason teams under his father Charles `Lefty’ Driesell’s leadership, and played on the 1984 ACC Championship team.
Chuck then became the associate head coach under his father for nine seasons at James Madison University (1989-97). The Driesells led the Dukes to five Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) regular-season titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the 1994 CAA Championship Tournament.
In 1997 Driesell took his first collegiate head coaching job at Marymount University in Arlington, Va. In six seasons, Driesell compiled an 88-72 record. Marymount won the Capital Athletic Conference Championship Tournament in 2000 and advanced to the school’s first Division III NCAA Tournament.
Driesell joins the Spartans after spending the last five seasons as head coach at The Citadel. Seven players during his tenure earned All-Southern Conference honors, and his seniors achieved a 100 percent graduation rate.
The coaching resume for Driesell also includes being head coach for the Naval Academy Preparatory School (1985-88) and Bishop Ireton High School (2004-06). He spent one season (2003-04) as an assistant and recruiting coordinator at Georgetown, where he successfully recruited two NBA first-round draft picks Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert.
“There is not a better person for us to bring into this program than Chuck Driesell,” Wojcik said. “Not only is he an elite recruiter and coach, but he is one of the best people I have been around in this profession.”
Driesell spent three years in the United States Navy as a Lieutenant. Chuck and his wife, Paula, are parents of two daughters, Brette and Taylor, and one son, Luke.
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