DeVries Emerges

Editor: The following is part of a press release from gosycamores.com.

(Des Moines, IA) –Drake University Director of Athletics Brian Hardin today named Darian DeVries head men’s basketball coach. A veteran coach with experience in the BIG EAST and Missouri Valley Conferences, DeVries was previously an assistant coach at Creighton University for 17 years and spent 20 total seasons on staff with the Bluejays. During that span, he helped guide the Bluejays to 19 postseason appearances and 12 NCAA Tournament berths.

DeVries, a native of Aplington, Iowa, will be introduced at a 1:30 p.m. press conference Friday.

“I’m so blessed and humbled to have this opportunity to lead the Drake men’s basketball program,” DeVries said. “This program has tremendous potential because of the commitment by President Martin and director of athletics Hardin to make Drake men’s basketball a consistent winner. The city of Des Moines is an awesome place to be and we can’t wait to show it off to future recruits. When you have a great academic institution combined with a vibrant city and people that go out of their way to help one another, it’s a recipe for sustained success.”

DeVries, 42, is one of the longest-tenured men’s basketball assistant coaches at one school in the nation and recently assisted the Bluejays in their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven years. During his time on the Creighton staff under both Dana Altman and Greg McDermott, the program has accumulated a record of 460-211 and 231-129 in conference games.

“Darian is an exceptionally talented coach who has found considerable success in his Division I career,” said Drake University President Marty Martin. “His commitment to on-court and academic excellence reflect values that are intrinsic to Drake Athletics. His 17 years of loyalty to the Bluejays contributed to a remarkable depth of talent and character in that program, and we look forward to the same exceptional caliber of leadership from Coach DeVries here at Drake.”

Under his guidance, Creighton has had 15 first-team all-conference selections, six conference Players of the Year, three Newcomers of the Year, three Freshmen of the Year and three Defensive Players of the Year. CU has also had six All-American honorees in that time, including Doug McDermott, the first player in 30 years to be named a First Team All-American by the AP in three straight seasons.

In 2011-12, the Bluejays tied a school record with 29 wins and followed that with 28 and 27 wins in the successive seasons as part of a span of 18 20-win seasons in his 20 years in Omaha.

Before joining the staff at then Missouri Valley Conference member Creighton in 1998, he already had an extensive background in the Valley as a starter at UNI under coach Eldon Miller. DeVries ranks 31st all-time in career scoring at UNI with 1,084 points and was twice an MVC Scholar-Athlete Team selection. The two-time UNI captain led the Panthers in three-point shooting three years and converted on 44 percent of his attempts as a senior with 3.1 assists per game.

 

Editor: Creighton’s website notes – DeVries was named the nation’s No. 7 mid-major assistant by CollegeInsider.com in the summer of 2009, further evidence of his coaching skills, background and ability.