Creighton’s Greg McDermott on DeVries to WVU: ‘He’s Very Deserving’

Creighton HC Greg McDermott commented on West Virginia hiring Darian DeVries, praising his former assistant. DeVries worked at Creighton as an assistant from 2001-18, and eight years with McDermott, before taking over the Drake program.

Creighton Athletics provided McDermott’s quote on DeVries to WV Sports Now.

“I could not be more excited for D-Rock, [wife] Ashley, [son] Tucker and [daughter] Tatum. He’s worked extremely hard to earn this opportunity. He’s very deserving, and the job he did at Drake speaks for itself,” McDermott said. “None of this surprises me because I fully understand the impact he had at our program, not only for me when I was here but prior to my arrival with coach [Dana] Altman.”

Before McDermott’s tenure at Creighton, DeVries served as a graduate manager and assistant under Dana Altman for 12 years. Altman spoke highly of DeVries.

Oregon HC Dana Altman Speaks Highly on WVU’s Darian DeVries

DeVries built a program of consistency during his six seasons at Drake. The Bulldogs won 20-plus games in each of DeVries’ seasons at the helm, with three NCAA Tournament appearances. Drake has one NCAA Tournament win from the play-in game vs. Wichita State in 2021. The Bulldogs returned to the tournament this season, falling to 7-seed Washington State on Thursday.

Drake finished with a 28-7 record this season, going 16-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference and then winning the MVC Tournament. Drake had a top-45 offense in the country, averaging 80 points per game. The Bulldogs shot 37% from three as a team, which is 36th in the country. Drake allowed 70.4 points per contest this past season.

DeVries leaves Drake with a 150-55 (73.2%) record over six years.

DeVries will be formally introduced as West Virginia’s 23rd men’s basketball head coach on Thursday morning.