http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XW47yAC_w8

Coach K,John Thompson and George Raveling to present Lefty for induction on September 7th.

So glad to see Lefty in his Orange Jacket shaking hands with Grant Hill and Steve Nash. Coverage begins on NBA TV tonight at 6 PM EST.

Lefty should be on soon. 4 HOF inductees have already given their speech.
If you don’t get NBA TV you can get a free 7 day trial for Fubo TV streaming which has the NBA channel

Lefty:"I love JMU. My team beat Purdue the year they won the Big 10 title." "2 of my players at JMU are coaching Division I basketball." "My son Chuck was my Assistant for many years and he coaches and I have 3 grandsons making a living coaching." "I love my wife of 66 years, she is my best recruiter and I love her and I could not make it without her."

Wow

Cool quote from Lefty. Glad he doesn't have hard feelings after his firing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTSZxE73...HrJF70QPMP

It was certainly the most humorous speech of the night. At 86, the lefthander still can capture a room like few others can.

(09-08-2018 07:47 AM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  It was certainly the most humorous speech of the night. At 86, the lefthander still can capture a room like few others can.

Great speech by the Lefthander. If the refs don't blow that call JMU vs ODU in the CAA Championship JMU would have been forced to keep Lefty on and history may have been different for JMU hoops.

(09-08-2018 08:25 AM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  

(09-08-2018 07:47 AM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  It was certainly the most humorous speech of the night. At 86, the lefthander still can capture a room like few others can.

Great speech by the Lefthander. If the refs don't blow that call JMU vs ODU in the CAA Championship JMU would have been forced to keep Lefty on and history may have been different for JMU hoops.

I totally agree with you. No way he should have been fired after that conference tourney run.

(09-08-2018 08:40 AM)Jeremyboz Wrote:  

(09-08-2018 08:25 AM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  

(09-08-2018 07:47 AM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  It was certainly the most humorous speech of the night. At 86, the lefthander still can capture a room like few others can.

Great speech by the Lefthander. If the refs don't blow that call JMU vs ODU in the CAA Championship JMU would have been forced to keep Lefty on and history may have been different for JMU hoops.

I totally agree with you. No way he should have been fired after that conference tourney run.

And I totally agree with you. I'm very pleased about all of this with Lefty.

I will say that as someone who lives in Harrisonburg, and who said at the time that we were quite likely to regret this, within the local alum/fanbase I felt very lonely at the time. Complicated dynamic, but canning Lefty was extremely popular when it was done. The alum was just going to step into his shoes, and we were at least seamlessly going to maintain the level of success we had with Lefty. Or so the thinking went at the time.

Lefty will always be a big part of my life. Just when I was getting into sports as a 6 year old Lefty came to UMD. Remember going to Cole Field house a lot. Taking my Dad to see UMD versus Tree Rollins for his birthday. Also seeing ND's Bruce Flowers & Digger Phelps. Norm Sloan, Dean Smith, and early coach K.... As bad as my memory is for names I can name so many players from the 70's. DJ played with his grandson's team (Chuck's kid) in youth basket basketball. DJ went to Chuck's basketball camp in Arlington.

EVERY college Lefty coached at he increased the excitement. And every league he coached in he increased interest of the other schools. He may not have been the most successful coach in every league but he was the one opposing coach conference mates over all wanted to beat and crowds showed. Heck, early in his days at UMD there was no one UCLA & John Wooden wanted to beat more then Lefty.

Was a little disheartening by seeing him with the walker. But listening to his speech Lefty is still Lefty. You could tell this was the crossing the T on his career. There was nobody on the stage last night who was more happy receive the award. Lefty getting into the Hall simply based on results would be iffy - but if you base it on what he bought to his teams, his leagues, or college basketball his induction was years too late.

Lefty was great for Davidson, Maryland, JMU, GA State, their leagues, and all of college basketball.

I love the Lefthander...

(09-08-2018 09:56 AM)Dukester Wrote:  Lefty will always be a big part of my life. Just when I was getting into sports as a 6 year old Lefty came to UMD. Remember going to Cole Field house a lot. Taking my Dad to see UMD versus Tree Rollins for his birthday. Also seeing ND's Bruce Flowers & Digger Phelps. Norm Sloan, Dean Smith, and early coach K.... As bad as my memory is for names I can name so many players from the 70's. DJ played with his grandson's team (Chuck's kid) in youth basket basketball. DJ went to Chuck's basketball camp in Arlington.

EVERY college Lefty coached at he increased the excitement. And every league he coached in he increased interest of the other schools. He may not have been the most successful coach in every league but he was the one opposing coach conference mates over all wanted to beat and crowds showed. Heck, early in his days at UMD there was no one UCLA & John Wooden wanted to beat more then Lefty.

Was a little disheartening by seeing him with the walker. But listening to his speech Lefty is still Lefty. You could tell this was the crossing the T on his career. There was nobody on the stage last night who was more happy receive the award. Lefty getting into the Hall simply based on results would be iffy - but if you base it on what he bought to his teams, his leagues, or college basketball his induction was years too late.

Lefty was great for Davidson, Maryland, JMU, GA State, their leagues, and all of college basketball.

I love the Lefthander...

Well said!

(09-08-2018 09:36 AM)Harrisonburger Wrote:  

(09-08-2018 08:40 AM)Jeremyboz Wrote:  

(09-08-2018 08:25 AM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  

(09-08-2018 07:47 AM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  It was certainly the most humorous speech of the night. At 86, the lefthander still can capture a room like few others can.

Great speech by the Lefthander. If the refs don't blow that call JMU vs ODU in the CAA Championship JMU would have been forced to keep Lefty on and history may have been different for JMU hoops.

I totally agree with you. No way he should have been fired after that conference tourney run.

And I totally agree with you. I'm very pleased about all of this with Lefty.

I will say that as someone who lives in Harrisonburg, and who said at the time that we were quite likely to regret this, within the local alum/fanbase I felt very lonely at the time. Complicated dynamic, but canning Lefty was extremely popular when it was done. The alum was just going to step into his shoes, and we were at least seamlessly going to maintain the level of success we had with Lefty. Or so the thinking went at the time.

That last team had some talented players returning. Would Lefty have been able to keep Mlisa in Harrisonburg? Would he have been able to get more out of Strickland? Who knows.

The talent level at JMU the last few seasons under Lefty wasn't what it was in the beginning. When Lefty went to Georgia State I believe he used the same blueprint as when he first arrived at JMU to get competitive quickly.

My take as an outsider is that he had free reign to bring in some transfers and kids that he didn't have free reign to bring to JMU towards the tail end of his tenure. That and the lesser Atlantic Sun at the time made it easier for that team to get to the NCAAs as compared with the Colonial. It was the perfect place for him at the end of his career and he really made an impact.

(09-08-2018 07:47 AM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  It was certainly the most humorous speech of the night. At 86, the lefthander still can capture a room like few others can.

The best line was when Lefty said something to the effect that when you get to be 86 all you spend your time doing is trying to remember people's names and going to the bathroom.

From his speech and remembering how he was when I was at JMU it's pretty clear that he's a guy who always had an eye on big time college hoops. By that I mean that he had been pretty close to the top of the mountain top in terms of the ACC, National rankings, NBA prospects, etc. and he always had an eye towards big time college hoops. He scheduled that way and ran his program that way even though JMU was close but could never really truly break through while he was coach.

For his JMU part of the speech he focused on a win over Purdue. I remember that game well but that JMU team (one year removed from the NCAAs) actually underperformed in the regular season and didn't even get an NIT birth.

That was an iconic photo of Lefty hugging Kareem Robinson in joy after the shot from "Culuko's Corner" to make the NCAA's.