Indiana basketball coaching search profile: Darian DeVries

Mike Woodson will step down as IU basketball coach after the 2024-25 season. Athletic director Scott Dolson is currently searching for the program’s 31st head coach.

Inside the Hall will examine many of the candidates being discussed for the job over the coming days and weeks. Our 13th profile takes a look at West Virginia coach Darian DeVries.

Previously: Dusty May, Scott Drew, Mick Cronin, Greg McDermott, Buzz Williams, T.J. Otzelberger, Ben McCollum, Tommy Lloyd, Brad Brownell, Chris Beard, Will Wade, Chris Collins

All Darian DeVries needed was the right opportunity.

After 17 years as an assistant, he finally got it. Success has followed.

The 49-year-old from Aplington, Iowa, was a solid point guard at Northern Iowa from 1994-98, averaging 10 points and shooting 40.8 percent from deep.

Upon graduation, he became a graduate manager at Creighton, where he served for three years before being promoted to assistant coach in 2001.

Then, he waited.

He served nine seasons under Dana Altman, then was retained when Altman left for Oregon and Greg McDermott took over.

After eight years under McDermott, the right time arose. In 2018, Niko Medved left Drake after his lone 17-17 season with the Bulldogs and the program turned to the Iowa-made DeVries to get the program back on track.

It didn’t take long.

DeVries took over a program stuck in the mud. He was the fourth head coach in a 16-month span.

Drake’s last 20-win season prior to his arrival was in 2007-08, a magical 28-5 run that earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament before falling victim to an upset against Western Kentucky in a March classic. It was Drake’s only tournament appearance since 1971.

Then came the DeVries era.

He led the Bulldogs to a 24-10 finish in his debut season. They were Missouri Valley Conference regular season co-champions but lost to Northern Iowa in the conference tournament semifinals. The Bulldogs participated in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

The next year, Drake went 20-14 but was eighth in the MVC standings. However, the Bulldogs made a run to the conference tournament semifinals, where they lost to Bradley. COVID-19 canceled the postseason.

His third year at the helm was the breakthrough. The Bulldogs went 26-5, finishing second in the MVC behind nationally ranked Loyola Chicago. Drake lost the conference tournament final to the Ramblers but received an at-large bid as a First Four team.

Before the start of the tournament, DeVries received an eight-year extension from the university to keep him through the 2028-29 campaign.

In the program’s second NCAA tournament in the 21st century and fifth all-time appearance, DeVries’ squad topped Wichita State by one point in the play-in before falling to No. 6 seed USC in the first round.

The next season, the Bulldogs went 25-11 and placed third in the MVC. They made the conference tournament finals but once again lost to Loyola. Drake earned the No. 1 overall seed in the College Basketball Invitational but lost in the quarterfinals.

DeVries’ last two seasons at Drake were nearly identical.

In the 2022-23 season, the Bulldogs finished 27-8, second in the conference and won the conference tournament. Earning a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament, Drake lost to Miami by seven points.

Last year, Drake went 28-7, finished second in the MVC and won the conference tournament (familiar, right?). The Bulldogs received a No. 10 seed but lost by five to Myles Rice and Washington State in the first round.

In March 2024, DeVries left after six seasons at Drake to accept the opening at West Virginia. He received a 5-year contract worth $3 million annually.

DeVries has quickly turned the program around in his first year in charge in Morgantown. Inheriting a 9-23 team, the Mountaineers stand at 19-12 before their Big 12 conference tournament opener and are currently projected a No. 9 seed in Andy Bottoms’ bracketology.

DeVries waited years for the right opportunity and has made the most of it. He took over Drake and won 20-plus games in all six seasons at a program that had not done so in 10 years.

So far, his winning ways have translated at the Power 5 level. A year after West Virginia failed to hit double-digit wins, DeVries is one away from starting his coaching career with seven straight 20-win seasons.

With the funds to outbid WVU, the resources for success and the allure of bringing the Iowa native back to his beloved Midwest, Indiana could be an appealing opportunity for DeVries if he’s willing to leave Morgantown after one season.

Category: Coaching search

Filed to: Darian DeVries