Joining his white button-down shirt and black blazer, new Indiana men’s basketball head coach Darian DeVries sported a red tie with many rows of four white diamonds and a small pin with the IU trident Wednesday afternoon.
Exactly one year prior, DeVries accepted the head coaching role at West Virginia University. At his introductory press conference 10 days later, his tie was gold and blue, and his pendant showed West Virginia’s logo.
DeVries more than doubled the Mountaineers’ win total from the 2023-24 season. He planned to build on that progress moving forward. Then, Indiana Athletic Director Scott Dolson called.
And suddenly, DeVries, who hasn’t been affiliated with a crimson-colored school in 30 years, had to change ties.
“A dream job for anyone, but especially for someone that grew up in the Midwest watching the old Big 8 and Big Ten basketball,” DeVries said at his introductory press conference Wednesday. “The chance to lead one of the biggest brands in college basketball was something I could not pass up.”
Flanked by his wife, Ashley, and kids Tucker and Tatum, DeVries said his first hello to Hoosier Nation. He outlined a process-oriented approach centered around hard work. He wants players who want to be part of something special, who want to fill boosters and fans with pride for how the team plays.
Before taking the stage, DeVries sat in a black chair off to the side, listening as Indiana University President Pamela Whitten called him a homerun hire. He didn’t smirk. He listened as Dolson lauded his resume and past success turning around programs, be it West Virginia or Drake University. His facial expression didn’t change.
DeVries didn’t crack a smile until Dolson discussed datapoints and the “mad scientists” within the search who examined DeVries’ key metrics. The Aplington, Iowa, native is all business — he wants the fun to come on the court.
And DeVries’ track record suggests the Hoosiers will have plenty of it. Soon.
“His winning, he's done it quickly,” Dolson said at the press conference.
Drake had five 20-win seasons in program history before DeVries became head coach in 2018. The Bulldogs won 20-plus games in each of his six seasons at the helm. They had one NCAA Tournament appearance in the previous 47 years. They went three times under DeVries’ guidance.
At West Virginia, DeVries took a nine-win team to a 19-13 record — while losing two talented scorers in his son, Tucker, and guard Jayden Stone to injuries early in the season.
Perhaps more relevant to Indiana, DeVries’ roster included only one player who suited up for the Mountaineers the year prior. He has experience evaluating a roster, adding his own flavor and finding early success — and doing it all in the modern, NIL-driven era of college basketball.
“I think the biggest thing and where you can get yourself in trouble is you're not building a collection of players,” DeVries said. “You have to build a team, and a team has to be able to fit together, play together, win together, be able to function together. That's the No. 1 thing, and I've had to do it now several times because basketball has changed.”
DeVries wants players who have the right motivation and aspirations for choosing his program. When teams compile enough of those players, they have a chance to win together.
The 49-year-old values culture. He’s built it at two stops, and feels he has the recipe to instill it again in Bloomington.
“We want to do the best job we can on the front end to make sure they're all about the right stuff, they want to come here, they want to be a part of a winner, they want to be self-motivated to accept the challenges to become the best they can be, and then play to win,” DeVries said. “That's ultimately what you've got to do.”
On the court, DeVries has a laundry list of attributes he wants his team to embody: playing unselfish basketball, playing together, taking care of the ball and cleaning up the defensive glass. Teams who do those things the best often find the most success, he said.
But talent also plays an important part. DeVries, who had three high school commitments to his staff at West Virginia and inherits an IU program with a pair of players –– Trent Sisley and Harun Zrno –– still committed from the prior regime, intends on building his initial roster through the transfer portal.
“In our ideal world, we would build it from high school up,” DeVries said. “This first year, that's not possible. We're going to have to fill some holes in the roster through the portal, and then your hope is in each year, you might lose a guy or two.”
DeVries’ ability to evaluate and develop players is part of the reason he appealed to Indiana, Dolson said. His willingness to embrace modern roster construction in the NIL era only added to his profile.
Whitten listed several other reasons: his basketball knowledge, winning background and ability to be the CEO of a college program.
The last time Indiana’s administration held a big-stage introductory press conference was Dec. 1, 2023, when it introduced football coach Curt Cignetti. Exactly one year after his hiring, Cignetti led the Hoosiers to a program-record 66-0 win over archrival Purdue, capping Indiana’s first ever 11-win season.
One year ago, DeVries’ thoughts — and feet — were far from Bloomington. But as he took off his tie and replaced it with a red Indiana quarter zip for more first-day pictures, he officially became a Hoosier.
Now, he wants to be the head coach who helps Indiana raise a sixth banner.
“Once we get where everyone can watch us on a nightly basis and they can say with great pride on a consistent level that that is my team, that is when the banners will rise again,” DeVries said. “It's time for us to get to work.”
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball offseason.
