Atlantic Sun Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose | Jul 8, 2020

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 22: Sherwood Brown #25 of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles celebrates with fans against the Georgetown Hoyas during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Center on March 22, 2013 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

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GREENSBORO, NC – CIRCA 1981: Head coach Lefty Driesell (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

5. Lefty Driesell – Georgia State (2000-2003)

Long before he arrived at Georgia State in 1997, Driesell had already had a Hall of Fame career. He had led Davidson and Maryland to phenomenal success before doing similarly good things with James Madison. While Georgia State was the final stint of his long coaching career, he still led the Panthers to one of their best seasons in program history.

As the century turned, Georgia State was already a top program in the Atlantic Sun, but Driesell took it a step further. The 2001 team won 29 games and upset 6-seed Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the program’s first Tourney win. The Panthers won another regular-season title in 2002, though settled for the NIT after falling in the conference tournament. He retired midway through the following season, racking up an impressive 53-22 record during this stretch.

When Driesell retired, he was fourth all-time in head coaching wins (though he’s since been passed by a few names), and he left behind an incredible legacy at several colleges. More than a decade would pass until Georgia State returned to the NCAA Tournament, with Driesell’s impact on the Panthers program clearly a profound one.

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