DeVries ready for the responsibility of leading West Virginia
West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries certainly understands the responsibility of taking over the Mountaineers basketball program.
"I understand the responsibility of being the men's basketball coach here at West Virginia," DeVries said in his introductory press conference.
It’s a basketball program with not only a proud tradition but the numbers to back that up.
During his introductory press conference, DeVries rattled off the success of the 20th-winningest program in the history of college basketball which includes 31 berths to the NCAA Tournament, 11 Sweet 16s, 3 Elite 8s and a pair of trips to the Final Four.
“Needless to say this program knows winning,” DeVries said.
There has been a combination of standout coaches and players with a list that’s too long to rattle off but each has been critical in building the foundation of the program in Morgantown.
“To have that kind of success you have to have terrific coaches and players that have paved the way,” DeVries said.
That makes DeVries a strong fit in Morgantown given the standard he has set during the course of his coaching career. As an assistant at Creighton over 17 seasons, DeVries record on the bench was 460-211 under two different head coaches in Dana Altman and Greg McDermott.
And when DeVries took over his own program at Drake, he led the Bulldogs to a 150-55 record and trips to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons.
So what are the expectations as DeVries steps into his role at West Virginia?
Well, winning is critical but early into his tenure, the focus is more on building his program long-term.
“From a wins and losses standpoint I don’t think you can go into it and say this or that,” he said.
Even in today’s era of the transfer portal, it is easier than ever to turn things around quickly. And yes, DeVries could make a commitment to simply investing in compiling as many good players as possible but instead, the focus is on developing a culture.
If competing near the top happens because of how the coaches build the program then it’s a bonus but they won’t sacrifice anything to get there when it comes to the the development of the program.
“The wins and losses, we want them to be more on the wins side this upcoming year. But it still has to be about the process and making sure we don’t sacrifice that to bring in some players that don’t fit us or don’t match what we want to build this program.”
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