Darian DeVries was introduced as the new Indiana University men's basketball coach Wednesday.
(Devan Ridgway / WTIU)
Darian DeVries’ name was in the back of Indiana University athletics director Scott Dolson’s mind when he knew he would have to replace Mike Woodson after this season.
Still, he said, he went through a deliberate national search for a new men’s basketball coach.
“Had several candidates, and it became clear that we found our person, and we went after him and we got him,” Dolson said Wednesday at a press conference introducing DeVries as the school’s 31st head coach.
“We couldn't be more thrilled about that.”
DeVries spent just one season as the head coach at West Virginia before taking the Indiana job.
He led the Mountaineers to a 19-13 record this season, but, like Indiana, his team was one of the first four left out of the NCAA Tournament.
DeVries said he wasn’t looking to leave West Virginia, and his intention was to build on the progress made this season.
“However, the opportunity came along to possibly be the head coach at Indiana, a dream job for anyone, but especially for someone that grew up in the Midwest watching the old Big Eight and Big Ten basketball,” DeVries said. “The chance to lead one of the biggest brands in college basketball was something that I could not pass up.”
DeVries made his mark during six seasons at Drake, where he led the Bulldogs to three Missouri Valley Conference titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
In his seven total seasons as head coach, DeVries has a 169-68 record overall and an 89-43 record in conference play.
He’ll have to rebuild the roster at Indiana and bring together a fan base that grew continuously during this season.
“So, from my standpoint, let's do that together,” DeVries said. “As a fan base, as a community, let's rally around one another to let's go make this thing happen and let's take this thing to as high a level as we can and try to put that on a consistent basis.”
He said he’s up for the challenge of leading a program that has five national championship banners hanging above the court.
“We want to be a part of that history and be a positive part of that history,” DeVries said. “That, for us is, like all former players and alumni from here, yeah, we want to embrace them. That's awesome. This is their program. They built this thing.”
The university has not released details of DeVries’ contract.
DeVries succeeds Woodson, who announced his retirement at the end of this season early last month. Woodson went 82-53 overall and 41-39 in the Big Ten in his four seasons as head coach.
