West Virginia Athletic Director Wren Baker was a guest on the Stateline Sportsline and addressed a number of topics with the panel.
Baker was asked specifically about basketball head coach Darian DeVries and the speculated interest that other programs have in him.
DeVries just wrapped up his first season in Morgantown leading the program to a 19-13 record after being snubbed for the NCAA Tournament.
Baker cautioned people that in his experience running coaching searches less than 10-percent of what you read and the speculation around them are true.
“There’s not really a lot of fact-checking that goes on with a lot of that,” he said.
The second thing was Baker has been on both sides of the coin either being forced to make difficult decisions after a hard season or a good season where people are trying to come at your coaches. And in football and basketball, there is a lot of speculation.
“Every coach we have that’s out there that has a successful year has people that reach out to them to see if they’re interested in talking,” he said.
Baker even brought up his own speculated job status since he arrived in Morgantown multiple times.
“I think it’s been speculated about three or four times in the two and a half years I’ve been here and there’s been a couple times people were presuming I was out the door and that’s just not the case,” he said.
The Mountaineers Athletic Director stressed the situation in West Virginia and the unbelievable fan base as well as the commitment to doing what it takes to win. That’s something that Baker believes that DeVries is well aware of and the two have had multiple conversations on the subject.
And Baker reiterated that he feels good about the situation and DeVries knows that they’re committed not only to him but the continued build of the basketball program.
“About what we need to do to make this program better and he knows that we’re committed to do it and we’re committed to him. We’re committed to rewarding success and committed to keep building this,” Baker said. “And I think ultimately he feels very good about what he has here and I think that the future is very bright for us."
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