MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — West Virginia University introduced former Drake coach Darian DeVries as its next head coach of the Mountaineers basketball team today. DeVries touched on a variety of topics, but was clearly about the opportunity that lies before him.
“I understand the responsibility of being the men’s basketball coach here at West Virginia,” DeVries said in his opening statement today. “We will do everything we can to make you proud. We’re going to do it with integrity. We’re going to do it the right way. We’re going to work hard. Everything that makes you proud to represent us and vice versa.”
DeVries continued: “My son, Tucker, will be joining us for his senior season. We’ve enjoyed this ride together and can’t wait for this opportunity at WVU.”
BREAKING: Darian DeVries confirms that his son, Tucker, will be joining him at #WVU!
— The Voice of Morgantown (@voicemorgantown) March 28, 2024
Asked about his expectations for the Mountaineers in the future, DeVries made it clear that although the wins might not happen immediately, that he will build a winning culture in Morgantown: “From a wins and losses standpoint, I don’t think you can go into it and say we’re going to do this or that,” DeVries commented. “I think the wins and losses, we want them to be more on the win side this upcoming year, but it still has to be about the process and making sure that we don’t sacrifice that to bring in players that don’t fit us or don’t match what we want to build this program. If it plays out that way that we can be as successful as possible and competing at the top then great. But we will not sacrifice anything from a culture standpoint in any way shape or form in terms of just filling a roster. We’re going to find the right guys that want to be here, want to be at West Virginia, want to be a part of a winning culture, a team culture. At the end of the day, I believe those wins will come. I hope they come sooner than later.”
When asked what kind of players he wants on the West Virginia roster, DeVries said the following:
“We will look for young men that have talent with intangibles. I’m a firm believer that if you stack talent and intangibles and you do that enough times and you put together a group of men like that in the locker room that equates to winning and we will have a locker room filled with winners. And winners just aren’t about scoring baskets. They have discipline, a toughness, unselfishness, and stands tall in all situations and we’ll teach them to apply that to all phases of their life.”
In closing, DeVries discussed why he ultimately decided to come to West Virginia: “I know when I took the job at Drake I said it would take something pretty special. I’m from Iowa, I’m from the Midwest. It was going to take something pretty special to have me leave there. When I talked to Wren and I talked to people that know this program and this place and the people here, everything about it made sense to me, made sense to my family that this was a place that we could see ourselves at for a very long time. A place that we felt we could enjoy as a family, enjoy as a basketball coach, enjoy being a part of this community.”
Let’s do it! #Mountaineers pic.twitter.com/yXqXyyOeCU
— Tucker DeVries (@Tucker_DeVries) March 28, 2024
