DeVries departs Drake, takes control of at W

Pete Thamel, ESPNMar 24, 2024, 07:02 PM ET West Virginia on Sunday employed Drake’s Darian DeVries as its next guys’s basketball coach, with the sides consenting to a five-year offer, the school announced.DeVries had emerged

as one of the country’s leading mid-major coaches in recent years, leading Drake to the NCAA tournament in 3 of the previous 4 seasons. He has won a minimum of 25 games in each of the past four seasons and has a record of 150-55 over 6 campaigns at Drake.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated “I’m honored to lead this historical program which has an exceptional custom and passionate fanbase,”DeVries said in a declaration. “Gamedays in the WVU Coliseum are legendary, and the extraordinary support for Mountaineer Basketball is known across the country. I anticipate constructing on the success of the program.”DeVries takes the vacancy developed when Bob Huggins left WVU amidst a hailstorm of controversy in the wake of his

DUI arrest in June. The school placed assistant coach Josh Eilert in charge for the 2023-24 season before reopening the look for Huggins ‘full-time replacement.The hire can be found in the wake of an across the country search that saw WVU officials visit several prospects in person.DeVries’ experience includes 17 seasons as an assistant coach

at Creighton and 20 overall seasons on staff with the Bluejays. His time there consisted of working for both Dana Altman(now

Oregon’s coach)and Greg McDermott.DeVries takes control of a WVU program that went 9-23 this season, consisting of a 4-14 conference mark that tied for the bottom of the Big 12. The Mountaineers qualified for the NCAA competition under Huggins in 13 of the previous 18

seasons a competition was held, and they reached the Last Four in 2010. Darian DeVries has won at least 25 games in each of the past 4 seasons at Drake and has a record of 150-55 over six seasons with the mid-major program. Jamie Squire/Getty Images DeVries accepts a task with NCAA tournament expectations in a Huge 12 that consistently has been the most tough conference in the sport in recent seasons. “Coach DeVries is a sensational basketball coach and an even much better person and possesses all the qualities we wanted in the next leader of our guys’s basketball program, “West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker said.”His groups play difficult and wise and are efficient on both ends of the floor. He has shown to be a strong employer and designer of players but a lot more significantly, a leader with stability who establishes character in the boys he coaches.” DeVries’child, Tucker, is expected to follow him to West Virginia, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. Tucker DeVries was the 2023 and 2024 MVC player of the year and scored 1,867 points in his Drake career. The 6-foot-7 guard balanced 21.6 points and 6.7 rebounds this season, shooting 36.3 %from 3. Drake

won a First Four game in the 2021 NCAA tournament and lost in the preliminary to Miami in 2023 and to Washington State this year. Drake won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title in DeVries’very first season at Drake in 2018-19.