We are still a month away from the tip-off of the college basketball season this fall, which means that we have plenty of time to start preparing for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Drake coach Darian DeVries, who talked about making the CBI last March and his expectations for this season.
You played basketball at Northern Iowa: how good a player were you back in the day, and how did you get into coaching? I was just an okay player but loved the experience. I always thought that I would be a high school coach/teacher but later decided that I wanted to get a job in college.
You spent almost 2 decades working for Dana Altman/Greg McDermott at Creighton: what was the most important thing that you ever learned from either of them? The biggest thing from both of them was their consistency and how they approached their day-to-day. They were never too high/low and just stayed the course.
You were hired as head coach at Drake in 2018: why did you take the job? I had tried to get it a couple of times before. I grew up in Iowa and knew the Des Moines area and the value of a Drake education. I thought that it was a great fit for me and I had a clear vision of what we could do here.
You were named conference COY twice in the past 4 years: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? You win those awards when your program is doing well, which is the fulfillment/recognition that I got from those awards. It filters down to your staff/players/administration because they are group awards.
In 2020 you became the 1st coach to lead a #8-seed to a win over a #1-seed in the MVC tourney: how were you able to pull off the upset against your alma mater? We made shots, which always helps! We finished the regular season against them at our place and got beat badly in front of a sold-out crowd. That is the beauty of sports: you just have to go out and play.
The following season you started 18–0, then lost 2 of your best players to injury, then led Drake to its 1st NCAA tourney win in 50 years by beating Wichita State: where does that win rank among the highlights of your career? It is probably #1. Not only did we overcome injuries but everyone had to go through COVID with testing/lockdowns. I was really proud of our group and their resiliency to stick together despite everything that was thrown at them.
Last March as the #1 seed in the CBI you had a win over Purdue Fort Wayne and then a 1-PT loss to eventual champion UNCW: what did your team learn from that run that you think will help them this year? It was disappointing to miss out on the NCAA/NIT but we wanted to give our seniors a chance to play in the postseason. We were actually up by 20 PTS against UNCW with 10 minutes left. It left a bit of a sour taste but the guys are excited to go back out there and make the NCAA tourney this season.
You have a great returning backcourt in Roman Penn/Garrett Sturtz: how crucial will they be to your team’s success this season? They will be critical, in addition to our other returning starters. I am excited about their familiarity with what we are trying to do: it does not always equate to wins but we have a great group of guys who play hard/play together.
Your son Tucker was named MVC ROY last year, your brother Jared played 12 years in the NFL, your brother Dusty played football at Iowa, your brother Jay played college football, and your sister Jodi played volleyball at Northern Iowa: who is the best athlete in the family? I know that it is not me!
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? Everyone in the Valley has the same goal of winning the conference title and making the NCAA tourney. We focus on the day-to-day: getting better, staying hungry, not getting complacent. The big picture is to try to make a run but in the immediate future it is about refining all of the little things.