West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries tends to place his focus on the things he can control.
To that point during his six campaigns at Drake, where he compiled a 150-55 record, he has quite the streak going when it comes to that department.
“I’m mostly calm, mostly. I haven’t had a technical foul yet so that gives you a little idea,” DeVries said.
And that isn’t just coach speak either.
“He has not got one,” his son Tucker DeVries added.
While he maintains a good rapport with the officials, the key has been largely that his focus isn’t on the calls or what unfolds on the floor in that area but instead with his team. That isn’t to say he ignores it because admittedly he believes he’s deserved a couple during his time on the bench, but it isn’t the priority.
“I just want to coach my team and try to make sure my thoughts are focused on that,” he said.
Tucker, who holds the distinction of not only being his son but a standout player on his team, has seen that focus in action over the course of his career. It’s something that his teams had taken on as well during his time atop the Bulldogs basketball program. And that calming influence has been key at times.
“He’s pretty good at keeping us calm if things aren’t going our way. It’s just time to dig a little further and just overcome it,” the younger DeVries said.
Transfer forward Tony Okani played against those Drake teams while he was at the University of Illinois-Chicago and one thing that definitely stood out from the opposing bench was that those Bulldogs clubs were never flustered in the moment.
He observed DeVries get animated in the moment but was quick to relax and have his team focused on the task at hand instead of dwelling on what occurred before.
“They won because he understands that his players are going to respond and that they’re built for the moment,” Okani said.
Now, the same can’t always be said for practice where DeVries is known to take on a much more animated role. But those on the team understand that by handling it that way, he is preparing them for the game in order to make them more relaxed if a situation occurs throughout the course of a contest.
But all good things must eventually come to an end, right? To those on the team laws of averages come into play at some point, but each understands that DeVries knows how to motivate his team even if that does include a potential technical foul call from the bench down the line.
“I'm sure it's coming. It's got to happen eventually, I would think,” Tucker said.
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