University of Virginia Library

Mears Blasts Driesell's Criticism Of Iba

Recently Tennessee
basketball coach Ray Mears
supported Hank Iba's coaching
techniques of the United States
Olympic basketball team and
directed sharp criticism toward
Maryland coach Charles
"Lefty" Driesell for ridiculing
Iba.

Mears said frankly that Iba's
"methods showed great results
when the U.S. Olympic team
defeated a number of teams
composed of 'professional'
athletes. They won 18 in a row
before the game with the
Russians."

When Lefty Driesell
returned from Munich he said
the Americans should never
have been in a one point game
with the Russians. He added
that if the U.S. team had run
against the Soviet Union they
could have won by twenty
points. Driesell added that the
Russians could not handle the
ball well and lacked the savvy
held by the Americans.

Mears was quick to defend
Iba, a former Oklahoma State
coach, by declaring, "Lefty
Dreisell crucified Hank Iba
when he said that. The thing
that Lefty fails to realize is
that Mr. Iba took good
basketball players with various
backgrounds and molded them
into a team in a short time. He
did this by emphasizing tough,
aggressive defense."

Mears went on to say:
"When you think of big men in
basketball, you think Naismith
and Phog Allen and Claire Bee
and Hank Iba and Adolph
Rupp and people like that. I
happen to have a lot of respect
for Coach Iba because he plays
a thinking game."