DeVries fills out strong group of assistants on first West Virginia staff
West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries has filled out his initial group of assistants.
With the hiring of Tom Ostrom, the first-year Mountaineers head man has now added five assistant coaches to the mix giving the program a strong group to build around.
DeVries has brought in associate head coach Chester Frazier, assistant Kory Barnett, assistant and director of player development Nick Norton, assistant and video/scouting coordinator Cavel Witter and now Ostrom.
It’s a group that has a nice blend of recruiting prowess, technical understanding of the game and youth. There also is a strong sense of familiarity at various levels with this group of assistants.
DeVries made a splash hiring in luring Frazier from his alma mater at Illinois to become the Associate Head Coach with the Mountaineers. Frazier is set to make $575,000 according to a Freedom of Information Act request and will be under contract until April 30, 2026. Frazier is a well-renowned recruiter and a top developer of talent who brings an element of toughness and grit to his teachings.
Another major piece was former Nevada assistant Kory Barnett who essentially served as the defensive coordinator for the Wolfpack and is a respected tactician on that end of the floor. He will be making $325,000 and will be under contract until April 30, 2025.
Ostrom is another critical piece to the equation. The assistant joined the staff at Drake in 2022 after a four-year stint as the associate head coach at Indiana. Earlier in the off-season Ostrom took a job with Vanderbilt, but the persistence of DeVries paid off by landing one of his former top assistants at his new school in Morgantown. He is set to make $342,000 and is under contract until April 30, 2025.
The next assistant under contract is Nick Norton, who followed DeVries over from Drake. Norton will serve as an assistant coach and Director of Player Development and will make $150,000 through April 30, 2025.
Witter had previous experience working under DeVries at Drake where he served as an assistant coach and chief of operations. He had previously accepted a job at South Carolina Upstate but now will reunite with DeVries in Morgantown. Witter also played under DeVries when he was at Creighton. He is set to make $48,000 through April 30, 2025.
That means those five combined will make $1,440,000 between them during the 2024-25 season.
DeVries made it clear that from a staff perspective, he wants to ensure that West Virginia can cover all regions on the country in terms of recruiting in order to identify and secure their desired types of players.
Overall, it's a strong first group that is a reflection of what athletic director Wren Baker said he would do when it came to investing in the assistant coaches.
"I feel like it’s important to make sure the coach can build a staff that’s competitive at the top of the league,” Baker said.
And it's hard to argue that the Mountaineers haven't accomplished that.
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