DeVries putting together the West Virginia roster
Darian DeVries isn’t a stranger to roster rebuilds.
That’s because, during his six years as the head coach at Drake, DeVries was challenged with adding nine to ten players to the roster multiple times.
That is also what he has inherited in his first year at West Virginia with only sophomore forward Ofri Naveh returning from last season’s team.
“It’s not like it’s something new for myself in terms of having a bunch of new guys come in and trying to gel together. I’m kind of excited about that. I think you get a lot of energy when you get a group like that and that’s a lot of fun too,” he told The Field of 68 Podcast.
The Mountaineers are now up to 10 scholarship players with DeVries adding seven transfers and a pair of high school prospects since he took the position.
Related: Report: WVU adding Mercyhurst to non-conference hoops schedule
Those transfers are Drake forward Tucker DeVries, Oklahoma State point guard Javon Small, UIC forward Tony Okani, Washington State guard Joseph Yesufu, Fresno State center Eduardo Andre, Illinois forward Amani Hansberry and Illinois guard Sencire Harris. While the freshmen are Memphis point guard KJ Tenner and Ohio guard Jonathan Powell giving the Mountaineers a completely new look roster from last year.
“You can get a whole new roster very quickly and have a roster that’s ready to compete now,” he said.
DeVries credited his assistants for helping him with assembling the roster as they had relationships with the ones that he didn’t personally know. The coaching staff has been intentional in making sure they got the right fit, and he feels good about where things are at this stage.
“I’m just ready to get to work with them,” he said.
West Virginia still has three open spots to fill and DeVries said there is a balancing act in trying to figure out the construction of rosters in this new era in terms of both class balance and numbers.
“I don’t think there is a magic formula right now. It’s just making sure they fit what you want your program to be about and making sure the pieces all connect in the way you want to play and the style you want to do at both ends of the floor and piece that roster together accordingly,” he said.
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